Indian Reorganization Act

The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA - adopted on 18 June 1934) was a U.S. law, which should allow the Indians to live more independent.

Purpose

Between 1887 and 1933, the U.S. wanted to assimilate with the General Allotment Act, the Indians. Towards the end of the 1920s, the failure of assimilation emerged more clearly. The mixture is saw that the General Allotment Act had led only to poverty and depression, but not to an integration into the Anglo-American lifestyles. To find out the full extent of the failure of assimilation, gave the government, represented by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA ), a study, which should take the situation of the Reserve Indians under the microscope. Appeared in 1928, this known among Meriam Report study. Many Americans were in shock over the content. According to this study, most Indians lived in poverty. Their dwellings and sanitary facilities were frightening, frightening their health. Training in the boarding schools was prized as grossly inadequate. The Indians were generally unhappy and without hope. The report said clear text and added this dismal situation back to the assimilation of the past decades. Although given by the BIA in order, the Meriam Report was particularly critical of their approach. The BIA would be mainly interested in rather than the possession of the Indians for the Indians themselves. As a trustee agency, the BIA, the interests of the Indians would actually represented at the U.S. government.

Finally, hit the report instead of the previous assimilation philosophy before a policy of cultural pluralism. 1932 continued U.S. President Herbert C. Hoover the present representative of a human rights organization for the Indians ( American Indian Defense Association ), John Collier, as a new charge of Indian Affairs ( Commissioner of Indian Affairs ). He introduced a few changes. Religious freedom was granted again. The pupils of the boarding schools were freed from the compulsion to accept the Christian religion. The sale of land parcels was stopped.

Collier worked out a draft law, which provided for substantial changes in the Indian politics. A new law, the Indian Reorganization Act should contain a number of measures that aimed to emphasize the political, economic and cultural independence of the Indians.

So Indians should organize itself in future local government and may make economic enterprises. The sale of land parcels has already stopped. In addition, have now already made parcellations undone and re- checked the tribal land. Country that had not yet been sold to whites should be returned to the appropriate tribe. Furthermore, the training of Indian children include Native American values ​​and traditions. A fund of two million dollars a year should be used to buy back land for the Indians. And the Indians should be able to have a private court.

Criticism

Colliers proposal met with both the Congress as well as with the Indians to criticism. Many Indians refused to return their plots. Collier underlined this passage from the text of the law and inflicting a paragraph, according to which each tribe had the right of appeal against the adoption of this law. The Congress, in turn displeased particular, the inclusion of Native American culture in the formation of the boarding schools and the creation of an Indian court. Thus, the law was further slimmed down and adopted on 18 June 1934 by the government.

Follow

Although massively weakened, the law brought extensive changes for the Indians. In principle, the sovereignty of the tribes has been saved. You could put tribal governments and again had better control over their reserves. In addition, the land fragmentation was stopped. With the voice of the government funds the Indians bought during the time of the IRA 12,800 km ² ( about 3.1 million acres) of land back. Compared with the 90 million acres ( 364,000 km ²), which was lost to the Indians during the parcelling time, this seems ridiculous. Economy enterprises such as livestock or production of handicrafts in the reserves have been promoted several boarding schools replaced by day schools.

Many tribes, however, were no friends of the IRA. Your doubt resulted from the lack of confidence in the U.S. government due to the many non-observance of contracts of the past. They feared an increase in power of the state bureaucracy instead of a new self-determination of tribes. Others saw in the IRA an opportunity for a more positive future. So it was that in the United States (exclusive Alaska) 127 strains of the IRA assumptions and 143 tribes rejected it.

The abundance of power and abuse of the BIA Collier has always been a thorn in the side. In 1943, he ventured a foray to liberate the BIA of its most important tasks. He failed. As a result of this defeat, he joined in January 1945 from his post as head of Indian affairs back.

See also: Indian policy of the United States, General Allotment Act, Termination, Indian Self Determination Act