CHAPTER 8

NATIVE AMERICANS:

From Conquest to Tribal Survival in a Post-Industrial Society

Overview

This chapter examines the evolution of Native-American/European-American relations since 1890. Native-American cultures and traditions, especially those that affected relationships with the dominant group. The shifting federal policies toward the tribes are covered, as is the Native-American movement of protest and resistance. Several sections are explicitly devoted to comparisons with other minority groups. To facilitate intergroup comparisons, the section examining the contemporary status of Native Americans is organized in parallel to the comparable section of Chapter 7. The chapter ends with a critical review of the applicability of the “traditional model of assimilation” to Native Americans and some speculation about the future.

Learning Goals

1. Students will understand that Native American and Anglo-American cultures are vastly different, and these differences have hampered communication and understanding, usually in ways that harmed Native Americans or weakened their tribal structures.

2. Students will understand that at the beginning of the 20^th century, Native Americans faced the paternalistic reservation system, poverty and powerlessness, rural isolation and marginalization, and the BIA.

3. Students will understand that The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 attempted to increase tribal autonomy and to provide mechanisms for improving the quality of life on the reservations.

4. Students will understand that the policy of termination was proposed in the 1950s and was disastrous. Tribes that were terminated suffered devastating economic losses and drastic declines in quality of life.

5. Students will understand that Native Americans began to urbanize rapidly in the 1950s but are still less urbanized than the population as a whole.

6. Students will understand that the Red Power movement rose to prominence in the 1960s and had some successes but was often ignored. The movement was partly assimilationist even though it pursued pluralistic goals and greater autonomy for the tribes.

7. Students will understand that current conflicts between Native Americans and the dominant group center on control of natural resources, preservation of treaty rights, and treaties that have been broken in the past. One possible source of development and conflict is in the potentially lucrative gambling industry.

8. Students will understand that there is some indication that anti-Indian prejudice has shifted to

more “modern” forms. Institutional discrimination and access to education and employment remain major problems confronting Native Americans.

9. Students will understand that Native Americans have preserved much of their traditional

culture, although in altered form. The secondary structural assimilation of

Native Americans is low; on many measures of quality of life, they are the most

impoverished American minority group. Primary structural assimilation is comparatively high.

10. Students will understand that over the 20th century, Native Americans have struggled from a position of powerlessness and isolation. Today, they face an array of problems similar to those faced by all American colonized minority groups of color as they try to raise their quality of life while continuing their commitment to their tribes and an Indian identity.

11. Students will understand key concepts related to Native Americans including but not limited to: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dawes Allotment Act of 1887, Indian Reorganization Act, termination, Self-Determination Act of 1975, National Congress of American Indians, Indian Claims Commission, Trail of Broken Treaties, American Indian Movement, Council of Energy Resource Tribes, and Native American Church.

12. Students will examine the experiences of Australian aborigines and Native Americans for similarities and differences.

13. Students will explore current debates about the directions in which acculturation and assimilation. Specifically, they will explore the question, "Whose culture should be emulated?" from two different perspectives.

Outline

I. Chapter Overview

II. Native American Cultures

A. Native American and Anglo-American relationships have been shaped by the vast differences in culture, values, and norms between the two groups. These differences have hampered communication in the past and continue to do so in the present.

B. The most obvious difference between Native American and Western cultures lies in their respective conceptions of the relationship between human beings and the natural world. In the traditional view of many Native American cultures, the universe is a unity. Humans are simply a part of a larger reality, no different from or more important than other animals, plants, trees, and the earth itself.

C. The concept of private property was not prominent in Native American cultures.

D. Native American cultures and societies also tended to be more oriented toward groups than toward individuals. The interests of the self were subordinated to those of the group, and child-rearing practices strongly encouraged group loyalty.

E. Many Native American tribes were organized around egalitarian values. Virtually all tribes had a division of labor based on gender, but women’s work was valued, and they often occupied far more important positions in tribal society than was typical for women in Anglo-American society.

F. These different values, compounded by the power differentials that emerged, often placed Native Americans at a disadvantage when dealing with the dominant group.

III. Relations with the Federal Government After the 1890s

A. Reservation Life.

1. Reservations were not run by the tribes but by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), an agency of the federal government.

2. The BIA controlled all aspects of daily life such as the reservation budget, the criminal justice system, and the schools. It even determined tribal membership.

3. The traditional leadership structures and political institutions of the tribes were ignored as the BIA executed its duties with little regard for, and virtually no input from, the people it supervised.

B. Coercive Acculturation: The Dawes Act and Boarding Schools.

1. Native Americans on the reservations were subjected to coercive acculturation or

forced Americanization. The key piece of U.S. Indian policy was the Dawes Allotment Act of 1887.

2. The intention of the act was to give each Indian family the means to survive like

their white neighbors. However, by allotting land to families and individuals, the

legislation sought to destroy the kinship, clan, and tribal social structures and

replace them with Western systems that emphasized individualism and the profit.

3. The BIA also sent Native American children to boarding schools sometimes

hundreds of miles away from parents and kin. When school was not in session,

children were often boarded with local white families, usually as unpaid domestic

helpers or farm hands.

4. Consistent with the Blauner (1972) hypothesis, tribal languages, dress, and religion were forbidden. Children at these schools were required to speak English, convert to Christianity, and become educated in the ways of Western civilization.

C. The Indian Reorganization Act.

1. The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934 broke with the federal policies of

the past. It rescinded the Dawes Act (1887) and the policy of individualizing

tribal lands.

2. It provided means by which the tribes could expand their land holdings.

3. It dismantled much of the coercive Americanization in the school system.

4. Financial aid in various forms and expertise were made available for the economic development of the reservations.

5. It proposed an increase in Native American self-governance and a reduction of the paternalistic role of the BIA and other federal agencies.

6. It had variable effects on Native American women. In tribes that were male dominated, the IRA gave women new rights to participate in politics. In other cases, new political structures simply replaced traditional forms.

7. Many of the IRA's intentions were never realized, and the empowerment of the

tribes was not unqualified.

D. Termination and Relocation.

1. In 1953, Congress passed a resolution calling for an end to the reservation system. The proposed policy was called termination. It rejected the IRA and proposed a return to the system of private land ownership imposed on the tribes by the Dawes Act (1887). Tribes opposed the policy strongly.

2. Under termination, treaty obligations between the federal government and the

tribes would end. Tribes would no longer exist as legally recognized entities, and tribal lands and other resources would be placed in private hands.

3. About 100 tribes were terminated. In most cases, the process was administered hastily, and fraud, misuse of funds, and other injustices were common.

4. Around the same time, programs were established to encourage Native Americans to move to urban areas as government support for economic development on the reservation declined.

5. Over half of all Native Americans are now urbanized, and since 1950, Indians have urbanized faster than the general population. Still, Native Americans are the least-urbanized minority group.

E. Self-Determination.

1. The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (1975) increased aid to reservation schools and Native American students and increased tribal control over the administration of the reservations.

2. The Self-Determination Act (1975) primarily benefited larger tribes and those that had well-established administrative and governing structures.

IV. Protest and Resistance

A. Early Efforts.

1. As BIA-administered reservations and coercive Americanization came to

dominate tribal life in the 20th century, new forms of Indian activism appeared. 2. The movement has focused on several complementary goals: protecting Native

American resources and treaty rights, striking a balance between assimilation and

pluralism, and finding a relationship with the dominant group that would permit

more life chances without sacrificing tribal identity and heritage.

3. The pan-tribal National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was founded in

1944 and stressed the importance of preserving the old ways and tribal institutions

as well as protecting Indian welfare.

B. Red Power.

1. By the 1960s and 1970s, Native American protest groups were finding ways to express their grievances and problems to the nation. The Red Power movement, encompassed a coalition of groups, most of which stressed self-determination and pride in race and cultural heritage.

2. Red Power protests included a “fish-in” in 1965 after the state of Washington had tried to limit the fishing rights of several different tribes. The tribes depended on fishing for subsistence argued that their right to fish had been guaranteed by treaties signed in the 1850s.

3. In 1969, Native Americans occupied Alcatraz Island, acting on an old law that granted them the right to reclaim abandoned federal land. Alcatraz was occupied for nearly four years and generated a great deal of publicity for the Red Power movement and the plight of Native Americans.

4. In 1972, AIM organized a march on Washington, D.C., called the Trail of Broken Treaties.” The intent of the marchers was to dramatize the problems of the tribes.

5. Since the early 1970s, the level of protest activity has declined, just as it has for the black protest movement. Lawsuits and court cases have predominated over dramatic, direct confrontations.

6. Part of the significance of the Red Power movement was that it encouraged both pan-tribal unity and a continuation of tribal.

V. The Continuing Struggle for Development in Contemporary Native American-White Relations

A. Natural Resources.

1. Land allotted to Native American tribes in the 19th century sometimes turned out to be rich in resources (e.g., oil, natural gas, uranium) that became valuable in the 20th century. The challenge faced by Native Americans is to retain control of these resources and to develop them for the benefit of the tribes.

2. Some tribes have succeeded in developing their resources for their own benefit. On many other reservations, however, resources lie dormant, awaiting tribal leadership, expertise, and development capital.

3. Tribes are banding together to share expertise and negotiate more effectively with the larger society. Twenty-five tribes founded the Council of Energy Resource Tribes (CERT) in 1975 to coordinate and control the development of the mineral resources on reservation lands.

B. Attracting Industry to the Reservation.

1. Many efforts to develop the reservations have focused on creating jobs by attracting industry through incentives such as low taxes, low rents, and a low-wage pool of labor. With some exceptions, these efforts have not been particularly successful and opportunities for building economic power or improving the standard of living from these jobs are limited.

2. Most wage-earning jobs on the reservation are with the agencies of the federal

government (e.g., the BIA) or with the tribal government. Tourism is large and

growing, but the jobs available in that sector are typically low wage and seasonal.

3. As of 1990, the median family income

for the Navajo was $13,940—about one-third the median family income for white

Americans in that year—and nearly half the tribe lived below the poverty line.

4. Only about half of all Navajo have high school degrees, and fewer than 5% have

college degrees.

5. Some tribes have achieved relative prosperity by bringing jobs to their people.

C. Broken Treaties.

3. Treaties signed with the federal government in the 19^th century offer another potential resource. Many tribes are seeking compensation for the wrongs of the past.

A. Gambling and Other Development Possibilities.

1. The gambling industry is another potential resource for Native Americans, the

development of which was made possible by federal legislation passed in 1988.

2. Profits from the casino are used to benefit tribal members. For example, by

repurchasing tribal lands, or by providing housing assistance, medical benefits,

educational scholarships, and public services. Profits also go to purchase other businesses such as restaurants and manufacturing plants.

3. Some tribes have sought to capitalize on their freedom from state regulation and

taxes such as selling products such as cigarettes, tax-free.

4. Native Americans have an opportunity to dramatically raise their standards of

living thanks to increased autonomy, treaty rights, natural resources, and

gambling. However, Native Americans continue to be limited by poverty and

powerlessness, prejudice, and discrimination.

VI. Contemporary Native American-White Relations

A. Prejudice and Discrimination.

1. One stereotype, especially strong during periods of conflict, depicts Indians as

bloodthirsty, ferocious, and inhumanly cruel savages. Another is of Native

Americans as “the noble redman” who lives in complete harmony with nature

and symbolizes goodwill and simplicity.

2. Native Americans are often portrayed as bucks and squaws with headdresses,

bows, tepees, and other such “generic” Indian artifacts. These portrayals obliterate

the diversity of Native American culture and lifestyles.

3. Native Americans are often referred to in the past tense, as if their present situation were of no importance or as if they no longer existed.

4. Many history books begin the study of American history in Europe or with the “discovery” of America, omitting the millennia of civilization prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonizers.

5. Controversies surround nicknames for athletic teams (the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Indians, and the Atlanta Braves) and the use of Native American mascots, tomahawk “chops,” and other practices offensive to many Native Americans. Protests against these nicknames and uses have been attacked, ridiculed, and ignored.

6. A decrease in anti-Indian prejudice over time can be seen through social distance scale results although the results do not necessarily reflect trends in the general population.

7. Research is unclear about the severity or extent of discrimination against Native Americans. Opportunities to develop human capital are much less available to Native Americans than to the rest of the population. Too little evidence exists about individual discrimination or more overt forms of exclusion to make clear conclusions.

B. Assimilation and Pluralism.

1. Acculturation.

a. Despite more than a century of coercive Americanization, many tribes have been able to preserve much of their traditional cultures.

b. Religions and value systems, political and economic structures, cuisine, and recreational patterns have all survived the military conquest and the depredations of reservation life; each pattern has been altered, however, by contact with the dominant group.

c. Native Americans have been considerably more successful than African

Americans in preserving their traditional cultures.

2. Secondary Structural Assimilation.

a. Population Size. During the contact period, the Native American population decreased by at least 75%. Since that time, the population has generally increased, dramatically in part due to higher birth rates, changing definitions of race, and a greater willingness of people to claim Native American ancestry.

b. Education. Although the percentage of high school graduates has increased dramatically over the past three decades, levels of education are still lower than for the nation as a whole. One positive development is the increase in tribally controlled colleges, mostly 2-year community colleges, which have been built since the 1960s.

c. Political Power. The ability of Native Americans to exert power as a voting bloc is limited because they are a tiny percentage of the electorate. Their political power is also limited by their lower average levels of education, language differences, lack of economic resources, and fractional differences within and between tribes and reservations.

d. Jobs and Income. The overall unemployment rate for all Native Americans is about double the rate for whites. For Indians living on or near reservations, it is much higher. Income data reflect the higher levels of unemployment and lower levels of education. In 1997, the percentage of Native Americans living in poverty had fallen to 25% but was still almost three times the poverty rate for whites.

3. Primary Structural Assimilation.

a. Rates of intermarriage for Native Americans are high compared with

other groups. The higher rate of marriage outside the group for Native

Americans is partly the result of their small size. It also indicates the extent of acculturation and integration for Native Americans.

C. Comparing Minority Groups.

1. Comparing the experiences of Native Americans to other groups will further our

understanding of the complexities of dominant-minority relationships and permit

us to test the explanatory power of the concepts and theories in this text.

2. Native Americans and African Americans had different stereotypes attached to them during the early years of European colonization. The stereotypes are consistent with the outcomes of the contact period. The supposed irresponsibility of blacks under slavery helped justify their subordinate, highly controlled status, and the alleged savagery of Native Americans helped to justify their near extermination by white society.

3. Both Native Americans and African Americans were colonized minority groups, but their contact situations were governed by different dynamics (competition for labor vs. land) and a different dominant group agenda (the capture and control of a large, powerless work force vs. the elimination of a percieved military threat)

4. Differing contact situations shaped subsequent relationships with the dominant group and the place of the groups in the larger society. While African Americans

spent much of the 20th century struggling for inclusion and equality, Native

Americans fought to maintain or recover their traditional cultures and

social structures.

VII. Progress and Challenges

A. Linear or simplistic views of assimilation do not fit the current situation or the past experiences of Native Americans very well. Native Americans can be found at every degree of acculturation and integration, and the group seems to be moving toward assimilation in some ways and away from it in others.

B. Native Americans have struggled from conquest and colonization, an experience made more difficult by the loss of their land and other resources and by attacks on their culture and language.

C. The key to further progress for many Native Americans is economic development on reservation lands and the further strengthening of the tribes as functioning social units.

D. Urban Indians confront the same patterns of discrimination and racism that confront other minority groups of color. Members with lower levels of education and job skills face the prospects of becoming a part of a permanent urban underclass.

VIII. Current Debates On Whose Culture Should Be Emulated?

IX. Main Points of the Chapter

X. Further Reading and Internet Research

Classroom Activities and Suggestions for Discussion

1. Have students read one of the poems, short stories, or chapters written by Sherman Alexie, Jr. in Reservation Blues or The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (among others). How does Alexie portray the struggles of reservation life such as poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, hopelessness, and poor education? What are his ideas about assimilation? According to Alexie, how do tribal rivalries and corruption separate Native Americans and thwart their success? How can concepts and theories from the text be applied to his writing?

2. Watch and analyze the film Smoke Signals (Buena Vista Home Entertainment), a film based in part on Sherman Alexie's stories from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The film garnered attention as the first full-length feature film written, directed and performed by American Indians. What ideas from the text emerge throughout the film?

3. Bring a CD player to class along with a copy of the lyrics for the 10000 Maniacs song, "Among the Americans." What is the perspective of the narrator? How does it portray Andrew Jackson and other Americans with regard to treaties? How does it relate to the text?

4. Telling jokes helps build a sense of togetherness between people and helps integrate the teller and the listener into a group. The intended goal of joke telling is to amuse others. Jokes also function to create or solidify racial identity and to establish boundaries between racial groups. Have students ask their friends for the ethnic jokes that they know. What ethnicities do they find the most jokes about? What are the common themes in the jokes? How do they build on common stereotypes? How do jokes serve to label minorities as "other" or "deviants"?

5. Leonard Peltier is a Native American activist imprisoned since 1977 for the deaths of two FBI agents. Show students the film "Incident at Oglala" and discuss.

6. Use value lines to generate discussion about the chapter topics. Have students line up according to how strongly they agree or disagree with a proposition you pose to the class. For example, "Are Native American mascots racist?" Sort students into discussion groups by according to their answers. Strive to create groups with at least one student choosing different answers. Ask students to listen to differing viewpoints in their groups and to paraphrase opposing positions fairly. Sometimes it is helpful to have students reflect others' thoughts before they are allowed to add to the discussion. This makes students listen to each other, helps find areas of common ground, and also prevents misunderstandings between students' viewpoints. On what areas can students agree? Can they also agree to disagree? What do they think should be done, if anything, regarding these mascots?

7. Historic images of Native Americans involve at least three perspectives: the viewer who sees the image, the producer who created the image, and the subject of the image. Ask students to watch old westerns or to examine any images available online (e.g., "before" and "after" photos showing Native American children "civilized" by being placed into boarding schools). What do they think is the perspective of the producer, consumer, and subject? What are their motives in helping create such images? How did such images work to reinforce or change stereotypes of Native Americans?

8. Have small groups of students analyze feature films for their portrayal of Native Americans. Films might include (but are not limited to): Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1973, featuring "Injun Joe"), Battle at Elderbush Gulch (1914, directed by D.W. Griffith), Billy Jack (1971) Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or, Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976, directed by Robert Altman), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939, directed by John Ford), Fort Apache (1948, directed by John Ford), The Last of the Mohicans (1920, silent or the 1992 remake starring Daniel Day Lewis), Paleface (Silent, 1920, directed by Buster Keaton), and Little Hiawatha. (Disney animation; 1937), Stagecoach (1939, directed by John Ford), Black Robe (1991, directed by Bruce Beresford). Discuss their findings.

9. Ask students to compare and contrast images of Native American women in Lakota Woman and Pochahantas (Disney, 1995). How accurately do these films portray Native American life in general and Native American women in particular? Discuss them in relation to what students have read about in their text.

10. Ask students to analyze slang terms for Native Americans. For example: Red, Squaw, Apple (i.e., "red" on the outside but "white" on the inside), Casino-owner, Chug (possibly refers to alcoholism), and Tontos. From where do these terms derive? To what areas of life do they pertain (e.g., religious beliefs, food eaten)? How do these terms reinforce stereotypes about Native Americans? How do they blur differences between Native American tribes? How do they help shape people's perceptions of Native Americans? What are key themes that emerge in their analyses as they relate to the book?