Indian Reorganization Act

The Indian Reorganization Act ( IRA ) was a US law passed on June 18, 1934 , which was supposed to allow the Indians to live more independently.

purpose

Between 1887 and 1933, the United States wanted to assimilate the Indians with the General Allotment Act . Towards the end of the 1920s, the failure of the assimilation policy became increasingly apparent. It was recognized that the General Allotment Act had only led to poverty and depression, not to its integration into the Anglo-American way of life. In order to find out the full scope of the failure of the assimilation policy, the government, represented by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), commissioned a study to examine the situation of the reservation Indians . This study, known as the Meriam Report , was published in 1928 . Many Americans were shocked by its content. According to this study, most of the Indians lived in poverty . Their dwellings and sanitary facilities were appalling, their health frightening. The training in the boarding schools was assessed as grossly inadequate. The Indians are generally unhappy and without any hope. The report spoke plainly and attributed this dreary situation to the assimilation policy of the last decades. Although commissioned by the BIA, the Meriam Report particularly criticized their approach. The BIA would be interested primarily in Indian possessions rather than the Indians themselves. As a trust agency, the BIA should actually represent the interests of the Indians in the US government.

In conclusion, the report proposed a policy of cultural pluralism in place of the previous assimilation philosophy . In 1932, US President Herbert C. Hoover appointed the previous representative of a human rights organization for the Indians ( American Indian Defense Association ), John Collier , as the new Commissioner of Indian Affairs. This introduced some changes. The religious freedom was granted again. Boarding school students were freed from the obligation to adopt the Christian religion. The sale of land parcels has been stopped.

Collier worked out a legislative proposal that provided for substantial changes in Indian policy. A new law, the Indian Reorganization Act, should contain a number of measures aimed at emphasizing the political, economic and cultural autonomy of the Indians.

In future, Indians should organize a local government themselves and be allowed to form economic companies. The sale of land plots had already been stopped. In addition, already made parcels should now be reversed and the land should be tribally controlled again. Land that had not yet been sold to whites should be returned to the appropriate tribe . Furthermore, the education of Indian children should include Indian values and traditions. A fund of two million dollars annually was to be used to buy back land for the Indians. And the Indians should have their own court.

criticism

Collier's proposal met with criticism from both Congress and the Indians. Many Indians refused to return their parcels. Collier deleted this passage from the legal text and added a paragraph stating that every tribe had the right to refer to the adoption of this law. For its part, the Congress particularly disliked the inclusion of Indian culture in the training of boarding schools and the creation of an Indian court. The law was further streamlined and passed by the government on June 18, 1934.

consequences

Although massively weakened, the law brought extensive changes for the Indians. Basically, the sovereignty of the tribes was secured. They could set up tribal governments and regain better control over their reservations. In addition, the land fragmentation was stopped. With the funds promised by the government, the Indians bought back 12,800 km² (approximately 3.1 million acres ) of land during the time of the IRA ; During the allotment period, the Indians lost approximately 90 million acres (364,000 km²). Economic enterprises such as cattle breeding or the production of handicrafts in the reservations were promoted, and many boarding schools were replaced by day schools .

Many tribes, however, were not friends of the IRA. Their doubts stemmed from the lack of confidence in the US government due to the many past violations. They feared an increase in the power of the state bureaucracy instead of a new self-determination of the tribes. Others saw the IRA as an opportunity for a more positive future. So it happened that in the USA (excluding Alaska ) 127 tribes accepted the IRA and 143 tribes rejected it.

The power of the BIA and its abuse has always been a thorn in Collier's side. In 1943 he dared to venture to free the BIA from its most important tasks. He failed. As a result of this defeat, he resigned in January 1945 from his post as the person responsible for Indian affairs.

literature

Frantz, Klaus: The Indian reservations in the USA - aspects of territorial development and socio-economic change . Geological knowledge, volume 109. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart: 1993
Washburn, Wilcomb: Handbook of North American Indians . Volume 4: History of Indian-White Relations . Smithsonian Institution (ed.). Washington: 1988.