Indian reservation

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In German , specifically limited areas with a separate legal status are designated as Indian reservations (also: Indian reservations), which were assigned to the indigenous ethnic groups of America ( “ Indians ” ) by various states . They were set up mainly in the 19th century as a result of the colonization of America. In some cases (particularly in the remaining wilderness areas of Canada and Amazonia), such reserves lie on former tribal territory, of which, in most cases, however, they represent only a small to very small part. The geographic location and extent was in contrast toautonomous regions of indigenous peoples (such as the Indian rural areas in Canada's Yukon Territory or the autonomous regions of Nicaragua ) without the participation of those affected.

Indian reservations exist under the following designations in some states of North, Central and South America:

Most of the reservations in North America, and also the largest in terms of area, are located in the western part of the USA - concentrated in the mountainous states of Arizona , Utah and Montana as well as in South Dakota . In Canada, First Nations reservations are scattered among over 3,000 small and micro units.

America's largest reserves are in Brazil. In Colombia and Brazil, the larger reserves are in the border areas with neighboring countries and in the Amazon drainage basin .

Indian reservations in Canada and the United States

story

Before colonization, well over a thousand Native American ethnic groups populated the North American continent. As a result of systematic land grabbing and planned reclamation by European settlers, they came under increasing pressure and lost a large part of their land.

Authors describe the reservations in their early days as prison camps, which the Indians were only allowed to leave with permission. The restricted reservation life made it impossible for the Indians to be self-sufficient. They depended on food rations, which government officials used as a bargaining chip. If individual Indians showed resistance, the food ration was withheld from them, so that the Indians had no choice but to submit or to find other supplies outside of the reservation.

Various images of reservations existed. In addition to the prison camps, in the early days one spoke of reservations as "schools for civilizing and education". Once Indians were sufficiently "civilized," they would be allowed off the reservations. Others, in turn, saw them as key to the survival of Native American culture .

Most reservations were created through treaties. The Indians had, as it were, reserved land for themselves; the government had no authority to reserve land for the Indians, since most of the land was recognized to belong to the Indians. Some reserves were created through land exchanges during the resettlement period. After the government in the USA stopped signing contracts with the Indians in 1871, the Indians were stripped of any right to have a say. Now the US government determined the creation, reduction or enlargement of reservations ("decree reservations"). This is government-provided land that it can revoke at any time. Purchase of land enlarged the reservations, and entire reservations were seldom established through purchase. The same applies to donations, which essentially came about through ecclesiastical institutions.

In Canada, numerous tribes formally transferred their former lands to the Kingdom of England by treaty (mainly between 1867 and 1923). Instead, they received much smaller, tradable lots. Also stipulated in the contract was the amount of food rations that the Indians were to receive as compensation for eternity, and the financial compensation, which was around twelve dollars per person. Chiefs receive an additional approximately $25 per year. In addition, the Canadian government undertook to provide education and health care for reservation Indians. They continued to be granted some fishing and hunting rights. There were many different treaties with very different terms, and some groups now argue that the indigenous side did not have the authority to enter into these treaties.

Most US reservations are very small and around 93% of them are in states in the western United States. Just three percent is east of the Mississippi River .

contemporary life

natural resources

The Indians were often allocated reservations in semi-arid to arid areas that were initially unappealing to the white settlers. Later, however, large deposits of mineral resources were discovered precisely in these areas . For example, around 55% of all uranium deposits in the USA are in Indian soil. The health consequences of uranium mining are devastating for the Indians. Furthermore, their country is rich in oil (approx. 5% of all US deposits) and coal (approx. one third of all US deposits). The Indians have little opportunity to defend themselves against the mining of mineral resources. Mining rights are granted in the United States by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The income from this is also marginal for the Indians.

In Canada, most of the income from such transactions is managed by the Ottawa authorities. The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (INAC) is responsible here

work situation

Uranium mining and its consequences are just one of many problems that the reservation Indians have to deal with. In general, poverty is very high and the living conditions are compared to those in the third world . Since 1980, the unemployment rate has fluctuated between 40 and 80 percent, depending on the reserve. According to BIA statistics, unemployment on the reservations in 1985 was 39 percent. On the US reservations, more than 40% of families lived below the poverty line in 2002 . However, some reservations have significantly higher unemployment rates, sometimes over 80%. The public sector is by far the largest employer. In 1980, the BIA, Indian Health Service (IHS) and other Indian authorities alone employed almost 60% of the workforce on reservations. In contrast, only five percent worked in the service sector, 16 percent in the secondary sector and ten percent in the primary sector. About a third of all reservation Indians have a job outside of reservation boundaries. Mainly due to the poor work situation, only 30% of all indigenous people in the USA live on the reservations.

Industry

Industrial companies are rarely found on reservations. This is an expression of the collective consciousness that still determines the everyday life of the Indians. There is very little interest in stocking up on cash reserves and material goods with high incomes, as is the case in the European way of life. Regular, continuous work is not seen as the standard by many members of Native American communities. Rather, they perform sporadic work assignments that satisfy their basic needs again for a while. They are less likely to make financial provisions than the rest of the American population. In addition, there is a less pronounced competitive spirit. All of these factors inhibit the development of industry on the reservations. Other negative conditions speak against the Indian reservation as an industrial location. The isolated location, the low-income and therefore poor residents, the lack of infrastructure such as repair and service companies, bank branches, means of communication and energy sources, railway connections, public transport and the quality and density of the road network severely restrict industry. In addition, there is a climate of political instability and opaque disputes over jurisdiction. Questions as to who potential investors have to negotiate with or what competencies the respective negotiating partner has are difficult to clarify. The lack of capital is also an important obstacle. Hardly any industrial companies can be financed by the Indians. In addition, the reservations and their residents are usually classified as not creditworthy.

In addition, there are also economic factors such as the large reservoir of workers. High unemployment means cheap labor for entrepreneurs. The environmental protection regulations in the reserves are very low, their control is practically non-existent. Targeted tax breaks and state economic subsidies are intended to attract investors. In comparison to foreign industrial locations with cheap wages, there are no customs and currency risks on reservations.

Canadian legislature does not permit land within the reservations to be sold to non-Indigenous people. Therefore, mortgages and loans on them are not tradable. Therefore, there is little investment activity.

For some time now, numerous US reservations have been improving their economic fundamentals through Indian casinos.

schooling

In addition to the work situation, the school system is also problematic; For a long time, Native American children were often only offered boarding schools (compare Residential School ). These mostly did not aim at education, but rather at identity deprivation. Schools have often been used by the state as a welcome tool to implement their assimilation policies. Subjects such as history, civics, geography and English served as suitable means of passing on the values ​​of the dominant majority society and convincing the Indians of their cultural inferiority.

Attending boarding schools often led to negative psychological and social consequences for Native American children, who were forcibly torn from their familiar socio-cultural milieu at a very early age and were usually unable to see their families for years.

After 1928 there were fewer and fewer such off-reservation boarding schools, with the BIA establishing schools on the reservations themselves. However, according to a 1980 census, 16% of all Native Americans attended school for less than eight years; the national average was 10%. If only the Indians living on reservations are taken into account, this results in a share of 26%. This is very high compared to the national average, but appears relatively low compared to the 1970 census when the proportion was 50% for reservation Indians.

Until 1967 it was common practice in Canada that the children of partially nomadic groups had to stay in the boarding school all year round. This practice was not revised until the 1970s. Around 1990, cases of sexual abuse in such schools became public. In 2008, the Prime Minister apologized to the indigenous people for these schools and the conditions that prevailed in them.

Property Rights (US)

Around 80% of the reservation land is owned by the tribal government, despite the policy of subdivision around 1900. Each tribe grants rights of use to its members. This handling represents the traditional American Indian collective system. Depending on the reservation, however, there is quite a high degree of individual ownership, such as in the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Lakota or the Crow Reservation , where individual ownership is between 60 and 85%. On the Osage Reservation it's almost 100 percent. Most of the land is held in trust by the BIA. Because of the special status of Native Americans, individual landowners pay no property taxes.

Since the plots are too small for self-sufficiency and there is often little interest in agriculture anyway, leasing is the only way to generate income. In 1984 13.6% of the reservation land was leased. Today much of the reservation land is in white hands. On the Crow Reservation, for example, a quarter of the land is owned by whites and 65% is leased to agribusinesses.

Property Rights (Canada)

Due to the many different origins of the reserves in Canada (contracts, decrees), it is difficult to make general statements. Although an 1876 law allowed Aboriginal people to manage revenue from reservation use, as of 1959 only about 20% of Canada's 600 reservations were at least partially self-governing.

system of government (US)

The Indian reservations are mostly self-governing areas, although the financial contributions, without which the Indians cannot live, account for about 70% of all tribal income. Most ethnic groups have a constitution based on that of the United States. However, tribal government jurisdiction is severely limited. Depending on their status and the nature of their past contracts with the US government, their powers vary.

Many reservations are still under the administration or supervision of the BIA, which often acts against Indian interests, although its administration has been in Indian hands since 1965. Traditionally minded Indians are hardly interested in a position at the BIA and so the central positions at the BIA are often occupied by progressive "half-bloods" who sometimes show little understanding for the Indian collective.

List of US reservations

According to the US Department of the Interior 's National Park Service , there are currently 304 registered Indian reservations in the United States. The 2001 census of Canada lists 600 reservations, 976,305 Canadian citizens with Indigenous status, of whom 286,080 live on reservations.

Reservations in the USA (excluding Alaska)
1 – 100 101-200 201-300 301-304
1. Absentee Shawnee 101. Houlton Maliseets 201. Quinault 301. Ysleta del Sur
2. Acoma 102. Hualapai 202. Ramah 302. Yurok
3. Agua Caliente 103. Inaja 203. Ramona 303. Zia
4. Alabama-Coushatta 104. Iowa 204. Red Cliff 304. Zuni
5. Alabama-Quassarte Creeks 105. Isabella 205. Red Lake
6. Allegany 106. Isleta 206. Reno-Sparks
7.Apache 107.Jackson 207. Rincon
8. BadRiver 108. Jemez 208. Roaring Creek
9. Barona Ranch 109. Jicarilla 209. Rocky Boys
10. Battle Mountain 110. Kaibab 210. Rosebud
11. Bay Mills 111. Kalispel 211. Round Valley
12. Benton Paiute 112. Kaw 212. Rumsey
13. Berry Creek 113. Kialegee Creek 213. Sac and Fox
14. Big Bend 114. Kickapoo 214. Salt River
15. Big Cypress 115.Kiowa 215. Sandia
16. Big Lagoon 116. Klamath 216. Sandy Lake
17. Big Pine 117. Kootenai 217. Santa Ana
18. Big Valley 118. L'Anse 218.Santa Clara
19. Bishop 119. Lac Courte Oreilles 219. Santa Domingo
20. Black Feet 120. Lake of Flambeau 220. Santa Rosa
21. Bridgeport 121. Lac Vieux Desert 221. Santa Rosa (north)
22.Brighton 122. Lagoon 222. Santa Ynez
23. Burns Paiute Colony 123. LasVegas 223. Santa Ysabel
24. Cabezon 124. Laytonville 224. Santee
25. Caddo 125. La Jolla 225. San Carlos
26. Cahuilla 126. La Posta 226.San Felipe
27. Campo 127. Likely 227.San Ildefonso
28. Camp Verde 128.Lone Pine 228.SanJuan
29. Canoncito 129. Lookout 229. San Manual
30. Captain Grande 130. Los Coyotes 230. San Pasqual
31.Carson 131. Lovelock Colony 231. San Xavier
32. Catawba 132. Lower Brulé 232. Sauk-Suiattle
33. Cattaraugus 133.Lower Elwah 233. Seminole
34. Cayuga 134.Lower Sioux 234. Seneca-Cayuga
35. Cedarville 135. Lummi 235. Sequan
36. Chehalis 136. Makah 236. Shagticoke
37. Chemehuevi 137.Manchester 237. Shakopee
38. Cherokee 138. Manzanita 238. Sheep ranch
39. Cheyenne arapahoe 139. Maricopa 239. Sherwood Valley
40. Cheyenne River 140. Mashantucket Pequot 240. Shingle Spring
41. Chickasaw 141. Mattaponi 241. Shinnecock
42. Chitimacha 142. Menominee 242. Shoalwater
43.Choctaw 143. Mescalero 243. Shoshone
44. Citizen Band of Potawatomi 144. Miami 244. Siletz
45. Cochiti 145. Miccosukee 245. Sisseton
46. ​​Coeur d'Alene 146. Middletown 246. Skokomish
47. Cold Springs 147. Mille Lacs 247. Skull Valley
48. Colorado River 148th mission 248. Soboba
49. Colville 149. Moapa 249. Southern Ute
50. Comanche 150. Modoc 250. Spokane
51. Coos, Lower Umpqua & Siuslaw 151. Mole Lake 251. Squaxon Island
52. Coquille 152. Montgomery Creek 252. St Croix
53. Cortina 153. Morongo 253. St Regis
54. Coushatta 154. Muckleshoot 254. Standing Rock
55. Cow Creek 155. Name 255. Stewart's Point
56. Creek 156. Narragansett 256. Stockbridge-Munsee
57.Crow _ 157. Navajo 257.Summit Lake
58. Crow Creek 158. Nice Lake 258. Susanville
59. Cuyapaipe 159.Nez Perce 259. Swinomish
60. Deer Creek 160. Nipmoc-Hassanamisco 260. Taos
61. Delaware 161. Nisqually 261. Te-Moak
62. Devil's Lake 162. Nooksack 262. Tesuque
63. Dresslerville Colony 163.Northern Cheyennes 263.Texas Kickapoo
64.Dry Creek 164. Northwestern shoshone 264. Tohono o'odham
65. Duckwater 165.Oil Springs 265. Tonawanda
66. Duck Valley 166. Omaha Indian Reservation 266. Tonikawa
67. Eastern Shawnee 167. Oneida 267.Torres Martinez
68. East Cocopah 168. Onondaga 268. Toulumne
69. Ely colony 169. Ontonagon 269. Trinidad
70.Enterprise 170. Osage 270. Tulalip
71. Fallon 171. Otoe-Missouri 271. Tule River
72. Flandreau 172. Ottawa 272. Tunica Biloxi
73. Flathead 173. Out 273. Turtle Mountains
74. Fond du Lac 174. Ozzette 274. Tuscarora
75. Fort Apache 175. Paiute 275. Twentynine Palms
76. Fort Belknap 176. Pala 276. Umatilla
77. Fort Bertolt 177. Pamunkey 277. Uintah and Ouray
78. Fort Bidwell 178. Pascua Yaqui 278. United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee
79. Fort Hall 179. Passamaquoddy 279. Upper Sioux
80. Fort Independence 180. Paucatauk Pequot 280. Upper Skagit
81. Fort McDermitt 181. Paugusett 281. Ute Mountain
82. Fort McDowell 182. Pawnee 282. Vermilion Lake
83. Fort Mohave 183. Pechanga 283. Viejas
84. Fort Peck 184. Penobscot 284. Walker River
85. Fort Yuma 185. Peoria 285. Warm Springs
86. ft. Sill Apache 186. Picuris 286. Washoe
87. Gila Bend 187. Pine Ridge Indian Reservation 287. West Cocopah
88. Gila River 188.Poarch Creek 288. White Earth
89. Goshute 189. Pojoaque 289. Wichita
90. Grande Ronde 190. Ponca 290. Wind River
91. Grand Portage 191. Poosepatuck 291. Winnebago
92. Grand Traverse 192. Port Gamble 292. Winnemucca
93. Greater Leech lake 193.PortMadison 293. Woodford Indian Community
94. Grindstone 194. Potawatomi 294. Wyandotte
95. Hannahville 195. Prairie Isle 295. XL Ranch
96.Havasupai 196. Puertocito 296. Yakama
97. High 197.Puyallup 297. Yankton
98. Hollywood 198.Pyramid Lake 298. Yavapai
99. Hoopa Valley 199.Quapaw 299. Yerington
100. Hopi 200. Quileute 300. Yomba

movies

  • In 1969, DEFA shot the feature film Tödlicher Error , which dealt with the life of the Indians on a reservation. The greed of white Americans for oil, their unscrupulousness in getting hold of it, and the coexistence of the two fundamentally different ethnic groups are portrayed in an exciting way that is as close to history as possible.
  • In 1973/74, DEFA shot the feature films Apachen and Ulzana , which basically deal with the same topic, but with a special focus on the coexistence of the Apaches with the European settlers.

American films that deal with life on reservations include:

See also

literature

  • Klaus Frantz: The Indian Reservations in the USA - Aspects of Territorial Development and Socio-Economic Change. Geographic knowledge, issue 109. Stuttgart 1993.
  • James S. Frideres: Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Contemporary conflicts. 5th Edition, Prentice Hall Canada, Scarborough, Ontario 1998.

web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Living conditions , American Indian Relief Council website . Here the Arizona Daily Star of May 25, 2002 is given as evidence.
  2. ↑ Dionys Zink: State of emergency in "Indian Country" . In: Coyote, Indian Present , No. 32. Volume - 121, Action Group Indians & Human Rights e. V., Munich, Spring 2020, ISSN  0939-4362 . p. 24.
  3. ↑ For identification of individual tribes, see Indian Reservations in the Continental United States .