Federal policy during this period emphasized the physical relocation of Indians from reservations to urban areas. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs started a relocation program that granted money to Indians to move to selected cities to find work.  This was another attempt to absorb Indians into mainstream society, thereby eliminating distinct cultures and disconnecting Native people from their heritage.  

Recall that with the passage of the Snyder Act in 1924, the Indigenous People of America were finally recognized as being “American.” In spite of that formal recognition, Native Americans were still prevented from participating in elections because the U.S. Constitution left it up to the states to decide who has the right to vote.  After the passage of the 1924 Citizenship Bill, it still took over forty years for all fifty states to allow Native Americans to vote.

In 1948, the Arizona Supreme Court struck down a provision of its state constitution that kept Indians from voting. Other states eventually followed suit, concluding with New Mexico in 1962, the last state to enfranchise Native Americans.

Even with the lawful right to vote in every state, Native Americans suffered from the same mechanisms and strategies, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, fraud and intimidation that kept African Americans from exercising that right.

The effects of the Termination and Relocation Period can still be seen.  Today, an estimated 78% of Native Americans live off-reservation, and while statistical analysis of exact figures can be debated, a very large portion of Native people live in urban or suburban environments.