The Indian Removal Act & the Reservation System
When was the Indian Removal Act passed?
1830
What was the purpose of the Native American boarding schools & adoption project?
Assimilation & eradication
What was the purpose of ICWA?
To end the adoption project.
What are reservations?
A designated area of land set aside by the US federal government for the exclusive use and benefit of a specific Native American tribe.
What was the Indian Removal Act?
The law authorized the president to negotiate with Native American tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for white settlement of their ancestral lands.
What were the conditions at the boarding schools like?
1. Forced manual labor
2. Physical, mental, & sexual abuse
What is ICWA?
A federal law that provides guidance to States regarding the handling of child abuse and neglect and adoption cases involving Native children and sets minimum standards.
Tribal and federal laws
Why was the Indian Removal Act passed?
Westward Expansion
White settlers wanted to take over Native American lands in the Southeast
Fertile soil, good farmland
Gold in Georgia
What were Native American children expected to change about themselves?
1. English
2. Christianity
3. "White" names
4. Clothing
5. Hair
What does ICWA require agencies to do when they attempt to place Native American children in new homes?
Preferences for placements
If a child needs to be removed from their home, the following preferences are in place:
1. A member of the child’s extended family
2. Other members of the Native American child’s tribe
3. Other Native American families
What are conditions like on reservations today?
1. High unemployment
2. Lack of adequate housing, plumbing, & electricity
3. Poor healthcare
4. Poor educational opportunities
5. Lack of access to job opportunities
6. High rates of alcoholism, suicide, & drug use
7. Food deserts
What were the effects of the Indian Removal Act?
1. Removal of Native Americans from their homelands
2. Violent conflict/Resistance efforts
3. Death
3. Horrific physical, emotional, & mental experience
4. Placement of Native Americans in Indian territory
What led to the gradual closing of Native American boarding schools?
The Meriam Report in 1928
When was ICWA passed? When did the Supreme Court consider the constitutionality of ICWA?
1. 1978
2. 2022
How many reservations are there in the U.S.? Where are most of the located (North, South, East, or West)?
1. 326
2. Western part of U.S.
How did the federal government justify the forcible removal of Native Americans from the Southeast?
“It is impossible to civilize Indians because they are essentially inferior to the Anglo-Saxon race.”
-John Quincy Adams
What assimilation effort replaced the Native American boarding schools? Describe it.
The Adoption Project: Native American children were removed from their families (even when unnecessary) and marketed to White families. 25%-35% of Native American children were removed from their homes & 85% of those children were placed in White households.
Did the Supreme Court uphold or overturn ICWA?
They upheld ICWA.
What percentage of Native Americans live on reservations?
87%