Impact of the Dawes Act
- Native Americans territories were divided and sold to non natives
- Native lands were diminishing quickly
- Life on the Reservations was disastrous:
- Decreased life expectancy
- Loss of tribal cultures and traditions
- Increased malnutrition
- High rates of alcoholism
- Boarding schools to assimilate Native American children were harsh
- Abused children
- Forbade them from speaking their own language
Native American Citizenship
- Native Americans were granted citizenship in 1924
- Not granted the right to vote until 1960s
- Had no real say in government process
- Citizenship status meant Native Americans would be treated as individuals and not as tribal members
- Federal land allotments and treaties were no longer honored
- Thousands of new citizens had their lands sold from underneath them by the Federal Government.
Hoover and Reservations
- As a child, President Hoover lived on an Indian reservation in Oklahoma.
- Hoover spent much of his life studying Native American cultures and felt more prepared to support them while in office .
- Hoover’s Vice President, Charles Curtis, was 25% Native American ( Kaw Nation )
Native Americans and the Meriam Report
- The Meriam Report was published in 1928 and exposed the conditions of Native Americans resulting from assimilation policies
- Boarding House conditions
- Health & Living conditions
- Employment
- Tribal Relations
- Recommended a shift in American policy from assimilation to self-determination under President Coolidge and Hoover
- Hoover proposed Native Americans “Should have the power to make choices and the federal government should support them in those choices”
Specific Findings of the Meriam Report
- Infant mortality rates were twice the national average
- Most reservations were without rudimentary services ( water )
- 7 times more likely to die of tuberculosis
- Low literacy rate
- Boarding schools were a direct attack on Native families as they seperated children from parents
- No economic or legal structure organized to protected Native Americans
- 96% of Native Americans earned less than $200/year
- Adjusted for inflation: $3,000 (2020 dollars)
- Compared to the national average of 20,837 adjusted for inflation 2020 dollars)
Hoover and Native Americans
- Hoover wanted Congress to allot more money to Indian Affairs for education, health, and improvement all in the name of self-determination .
- Hoover ordered a reform package to eliminate off reservation boarding schools for younger children