Monday Week 9

Another religious revitalization movement in the northwest

Focused around Jake Hunt (Titcam Hashat) Klickitat

The Waptashi or feather religion Hunt received a religious vision while

mourning the death of wife Saw Lishwailait, Klickitat Prophet Again focused on traditional dress and ideas Religion survives into the 20thc

Final religious conflict

Peyote Peyote buttons, fruit

of Lophophora

williamsi Grows primarily in

northern Mexico Dried and chewed in

religious rituals

Used by Apaches and others

In 1880s moved into the Indian territory

Religion based around Peyote grew

Again Christianity with Indian understanding

Quannah Parker Credited with

introducing many to church

Ceremonies often took place at night

Away from prying eyes Indian Agents again

tried to outlaw it As did some Native

Americans Zitkal-Šu Navajo Tribal Council

banned it in 1940

I haven’t touched a drop of liquor for years . . . I have to thank the Indian movement for that, and Grandfather Peyote, and the pipe. Mary Crow Dog

1918 Native American Church Formally recognized in Oklahoma

Many years of legal battles over the use of Peyote

Made its way into popular culture

Exploiting the land and its resources With allotment

theft of Native American land Concurrent exploitation of

resources 2 day before leaving office President

Theodore Roosevelt - 8 Ex orders Put 2,500,000 acres of land into

hands of the forest service They issued contracts to Lumber

companies

Oil and the Osage Osage made money from leasing their lands

to cattle people Late 1800 oil was discovered on their land

Foster, Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Company (ITIO)

Wasn’t until early 20th C that real exploitation began

40 wells completed by 1903 1904 pipeline constructed to the Standard

Oil Refinery in Neodosho, Kansas Reduced transport costs by nearly 40

percent

Next year over 300 wells brought into production.

Over next two decades Osages' "underground reservation" produced more wealth than all American gold rushes combined

ITIO lost sole rights to drill in 1916 Public lease auctions began in 1916 record bid was $1,990,000 for a

single, 160-acre tract

Osage retained collective ownership of subsurface mineral rights

Tribal members received "headrights“ assured them equal share of

mineral rights sales equivalent to income from 658 acres.

Headright could not be sold Average Osage family of a

husband, wife, and three children

$65,000 a year in 1926

1939 Osage individuals had received a total of more than $100 million in royalties and bonuses

William K. Hale self-proclaimed "King of the

Osage Hills” mastermind of a plot to acquire

Osage wealth through murder. 1921 – 1924 24 Osage Murdered FBI Brought in

Native Americans and Water As Americans expanded west water became

an issue Miners and other claimed water rights as part

of their stake Debate of water rights not settled until 1908 Winters v. United States

Supreme court Determined Indians living on reservations

retained the right to water for farming and other business projects

State governments, settlers and water districts often ignored ruling

1909 supreme court ruled federal treaties had guaranteed water rights to tribes

Still little respect 1924 Secretary of Interior Hubert

Work assigned Porter Preston

Bureau of Reclamation C.A. Eagle

Bureau of Indian Affairs to investigate

Preston-Engle Irrigation Report made many recommendations Not until the 1950s that the 1908

Winters decision began to be taken seriously

By this time many acre feet of water had been stolen from Rivers

Allotment turned Native Americans in to farmers

Ignoring Winters etc deprived them of a vital resource need to be farmers

Pueblo lands During early 20th C

many squatters on Indian land

Pueblo lands suffered like many

Various Pueblo communities attempted to evict squatters

State, county, and law enforcement ignored their request for helped

Congress reacted by proposing the Bursum Bill in 1922

Under the terms of the bill Pueblo communities had to prove

ownership reversal of normal legal procedure

If pueblos could not prove ownership to the satisfaction of the government

Real estate vested in non-Indians

Both President Harding and Secretary of the Interior Fall supported bill

Resistance came from both Indian and non-Indian sources

John Collier was the main figure from non-Indian society

With Collier’s help the bill was defeated Collier also brought other non-Indians

into Indian reform D.H. Lawrence Zane Grey Carl Sandburg

And importantly General Federation of Women’s Clubs National organization with many active

members

Pueblo people traveled across the nation making their case

Visited DC to talk to politicians Worked through the All-Pueblo Council 1st time all Pueblo’s had worked together

since the Pueblo revolt in 1680 Led to New legislation that recognized Pueblo land

titles Pueblo Land Board

End monday

Led to a new surge in Indian support

Columbus Day 1911 Leaders from 18

nations met in Columbus Ohio

Formed Society of American Indians

Major figure in group was

Carlos Montezuma

Wassaja (Montezuma) born c. 1866 in Central Arizona Yavapai

Captured by Pima Indians in 1871 Sold to photographer named Carlos Gentile

for $30 Given new name and Euro-American

education University of Illinois and Chicago Medical

School Favored hard individualism and hard work

After visit to home reservation became strong advocate for the abolishment of BIA

And taking pride in native ways Diagnosed with tuberculosis and

returned to live on Yavapai reservation Died in 1923 One year before Government issued

citizenship to all Native Americans

Native Americans and American Citizenship

Certain Native Americans had been granted citizenship in 19th C

1901 citizenship awrded to all in Indian Territory

1906 Delayed by Burke Act Were not prepared so delayed 1916 citizenship for those who were living

with Guardians 1919 all Native Americans who served in

WWI gained citizenship

Many Native Americans fort in WWI

Native Americans have the highest record of service per capita of all the ethnic groups in America

12,000 + in WWI Used native speakers in

communication department Cherokee and Choctaw

among others Note code-talkers, just used

their own language

1924 finally citizenship to all Native Americans Who “may receive the news of their new

citizenship with wry smiles. The white race, having robbed them of a continent, and having sought to deprive them of freedom of action, freedom of social custom, and freedom of worship, now at last gives them the same legal basis as their conquerors”

New York Editorial July 7, 1924 Some states withheld state citizenship Last to grant citizenship Arizona and New

Mexico 1948

Returning veterans also spurred on change

Together with people like Collier and All-Pueblo Council and others

1923 Secretary of Interior asked the Committee of One Hundred To investigate BIA December 1923 report sent in Little impact but indicative of push for

change

1926 Secretary of Interior Work Asked the Board of Indian

Commissioners to investigate Board recommended that “non-government, disinterested

organization with a field force of experts”

Investigate condition of tribes controlled by BIA

W.F. Willoughby of Institute of Government Research to investigate

Received grant from John D. Rockefeller Jr.

Appointed Scholar Lewis Meriam to lead investigation

Led to The Problem of Indian

Administration More often known as the

Meriam Report of 1928

Pueblo people traveled across the nation making their case

Visited DC to talk to politicians Worked through the All-Pueblo Council 1st time all Pueblo’s had worked together

since the Pueblo revolt in 1680 Led to New legislation that recognized Pueblo land

titles Pueblo Land Board

Led to a new surge in Indian support

Columbus Day 1911 Leaders from 18

nations met in Columbus Ohio

Formed Society of American Indians

Major figure in group was

Carlos Montezuma

Wassaja (Montezuma) born c. 1866 in Central Arizona Yavapai

Captured by Pima Indians in 1871 Sold to photographer named Carlos Gentile

for $30 Given new name and Euro-American

education University of Illinois and Chicago Medical

School Favored hard individualism and hard work

After visit to home reservation became strong advocate for the abolishment of BIA

And taking pride in native ways Diagnosed with tuberculosis and

returned to live on Yavapai reservation Died in 1923 One year before Government issued

citizenship to all Native Americans

Native Americans and American Citizenship

Certain Native Americans had been granted citizenship in 19th C

1901 citizenship awrded to all in Indian Territory 1906 Delayed by Burke Act Were not prepared so delayed 1916 citizenship for those who were living with

Guardians 1919 all Native Americans who served in WWI

gained citizenship

Many Native Americans fort in WWI

Native Americans have the highest record of service per capita of all the ethnic groups in America

12,000 + in WWI Used native speakers in

communication department Cherokee and Choctaw

among others Note code-talkers, just used

their own language

1924 finally citizenship to all Native Americans Who “may receive the news of their new

citizenship with wry smiles. The white race, having robbed them of a continent, and having sought to deprive them of freedom of action, freedom of social custom, and freedom of worship, now at last gives them the same legal basis as their conquerors”

New York Editorial July 7, 1924 Some states withheld state citizenship Last to grant citizenship Arizona and New

Mexico 1948

Returning veterans also spurred on change

Together with people like Collier and All-Pueblo Council and others

1923 Secretary of Interior asked the Committee of One Hundred To investigate BIA December 1923 report sent in Little impact but indicative of push for

change

1926 Secretary of Interior Work Asked the Board of Indian

Commissioners to investigate Board recommended that “non-government, disinterested

organization with a field force of experts”

Investigate condition of tribes controlled by BIA

W.F. Willoughby of Institute of Government Research to investigate

Received grant from John D. Rockefeller Jr.

Appointed Scholar Lewis Meriam to lead investigation

Led to The Problem of Indian

Administration More often known as the

Meriam Report of 1928

committee of internationally known experts

Both white and native Most prominent native Henry Roe Cloud Ho-Chunk 1927 Committee spent 7

months on several reservations

Reviewed documents from boarding schools and health clinics

Major problem for committee lack of records 1884 Congress passed a law

required BIA to keep vital statistics on reservations

Universally ignored Yet the field work combined with

fragmentary statistics was enough for a solid condemnation

Became a landmark document Chronicled problems among Native

Americans Allotment Act and Indian education

Based on acculturation and assimilation To be failures Average Indian income $100 - $200 Average income in the US as a whole

$1350

One of major elements of Report was health

“taken as a whole practically every activity undertaken by the national government for the promotion of health of the Indians is below a reasonable standard of efficiency”

“falls markedly below the standards maintained by the public health service, the veterans bureau, and the Army and Navy”

Birth Rates and the Meriam Report One area which highlighted health crisis Fetal and infant mortality White U.S. infant mortality rate 70.8/1000 African American infant mortality rate

114.1/1000 Indian infant mortality rate 190.7/1000 An average Some reservations much

worse

Yakama Reservation 1925-29 US infant mortality 65/ 1000 State of Washington infant mortality

51/1000 Yakama Reservation 497/1000

Arizona Death rate among Native Americans

due to tuberculosis was 17 times that of US in general

1930 death from pneumonia 20 times that of the US in general

Reason for this appalling figures 50c per Indian per year in health care

from BIA Few hospitals, doctors, or nurses

Boarding schools had poor sanitation, lack of medical care and poor food

Weakened by these factors became susceptible to disease

When students became ill – sent home Spreading disease within home community

1929, Secretary of Interior ordered agents to allow state and county health official to enter the

reservation A direct result of the Meriam report

Meriam reportNot a revolutionary document

Many recommendations made in earlier reports But pulled together huge amount of data in a

comprehensive reportA document that all could rally behind

Congress, BIA, Reformers, and General PublicBecame foundation for the next level of Indian reformChanged Indain history for the remainder of 20th C

John Collier

Social Worker in New York 1919 - California Housing and

Immigration Commission Concerned with the adverse effects of

the industrial age on mankind. American needed to reestablish a

sense of community and responsibility

1919 visited Taos Pueblo in New Mexico spent time there frequently

Collier left Taos in 1921 Had an transformational experience Indians only people in western hemisphere

who still possessed “the fundamental secret of human life –

the secret building of great personality through the instrumentality of social institutions”

Rejected assimilation and Americanization Demanded cultural pluralism be accepted

when dealing with Indians Identified Indian survival with retention of

land base Lobbied for the repeal of Dawes Act Directly attacked the Bureau of Indian

Affairs Prior to Collier, criticism directed at corrupt

and incompetent officials He aimed at actual policies implemented.

Crash of 1929 worsened conditions for most Americans including Native Americans

President Hoover reorganized the BIA provided it with major funding increases

More and greater reform and help came with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal

Roosevelt nominated John Collier as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1933

Collier set up Indian New Deal Indian Indian Civilian Conservation Corps, provided jobs to

Native Americans in soil erosion control, forestation, range development, and

other public works

Instrumental in passing Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 one of the most influential and lasting pieces

of legislation relating to federal Indian policy. Also known as Wheeler-Howard Act Reversed years of assimilation policies

Emphasized Indian self-determination Return of communal Indian land

Johnson-O'Malley Act Allowed the Secretary of the Interior to sign

contracts with state governments to share responsibility for the social and

economic well-being of American Indians.

While Collier emphasized and vocally expressed support for Indian self-determination

Policies were often seen by American Indians as

another paternalistic program forced upon them by the federal government

Criticism aside, Collier did more to protect Native American land and culture than any other Indian Affairs Commissioner

resigned as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1945.