American Indian Policy

The American Indian has long suffered at the hands of the white man. Although white European settlers viewed their treatment of the Indian people as necessary for settling the land, the reality is that the policies and actions taken by the settlers had a profound and irrevocable impact on this group. Nowhere is the reality more prominent than in the late nineteenth century when the federal government developed formidable legislation to deal with, what had been termed, the Indian problem.

Looking first at the reasons for the development of the Indian policy, McDonnell (1991) notes that the government enacted laws aimed at achieving two goals. First the government believed that the Indian policy would serve as the basis to become "civilized." Second, the government thought that by enacting Indian policy, the Indians would be persuaded to give up their tribal existence and assimilate into mainstream society. "The idea was not only to discourage native habits but to encourage Indians to accept the social and economic standards of white society" (p. 1). Further, Indian policy also sought to develop the Indian people as independent land owners that would not need the assistance of the federal government over the long-term.

While it is quite clear that the government had some altruistic intentions for helping the Native American, McDonnell goes on to note that the government also sought to appease another political group: wealthy Europeans in search of fertile land. "After allotting reservation land to individual Indians, the government would be able to open up the surplus land to white settlers" (p. 3). In their haste to appease white European settlers, the government developed Indian reservations on some of the most infertile and undesirable land in the United States. Settlers were then given the opportunity to pick and choose what tracts of land they wished to purchase.

The government's decision to adopt its Indian policy clearly had a profound impact on the Native American. Although the government sought to create a high degree of assimilation by civilizing Indian tribes, the end result was the further exclusion of the Native American from mainstream culture. Prucha (1984) notes that when the government began its large scale efforts to remove Native Americans from their land and place them on reservations, considerable protest and violence erupted. The violence that erupted lead to notable battles between US soldiers and Native Americans. In the end, thousands of lives were lost and the Native American was still forced to accept his fate.

The forcible removal of Native Americans from their land not only spurred violence and protest, it also spurred a notable change and decline in the Indian culture. As noted by Prucha, the Indian way of life is based upon the individual and tribe's relationship with the land and the animals and plants that inhabit the land. Native Americans did not view land as a commodity to be bought and sold. Rather, this group viewed land as the lifeblood of their existence. Thus, when the Native Americans were removed from their homes and forced to live on reservations, they lost a critical part of their culture and daily existence. This loss is one that has altered the fundamental nature of Native American culture.

Finally, once the Indians had been placed on the reservations, Prucha notes that Indian tribes were expected to become agricultural producers. With no buffalo or other wildlife to hunt, the Indians were forced to become producers. Although the government was willing to support Indian tribes in the beginning, after several years, the funding and support granted to the Indians was severely retracted. This coupled with the inability of the Native Americans to thrive in their new homes served as the basis to plunge most Native Americans into abject poverty. Unfortunately, this circumstance is one that remains a pervasive part of reservation life.

References

McDonnell, J.A. (1991). The Dispossession of the American Indian, 1887-1934. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Prucha, F.P. (1984). The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.