StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
he Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe The U.S. Government policies towards the Native American tribal groups until the second half of the 20th century was specifically aimed at their assimilation…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.6% of users find it useful
The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe"

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe First and College First andLast Name, Department., University of. [Student’s First and Last Name] is now at Department of., University of. This research was in part supported by the grant awarded to [Student’s First and Last Name] by [Sample Grant Programme]. Correspondence concerning this research paper should be addressed to [Student’s First and Last Name], Department., University of., [Address] Contact: The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe The U.S. Government policies towards the Native American tribal groups until the second half of the 20th century was specifically aimed at their assimilation.

For instance, in the 1880s such political luminaries as Senator Dawes, went as far as presuming that the main purpose of the U.S. policy efforts in this respect should be the achievement of the situation where “the Indian…is to disappear” (Niiska, 2001, p.1). Nonetheless, by the 1930s the perception of the ‘Indian problem’ has become more liberal, which found its expression in the adoption of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) in 1934. The IRA may be considered to be one of the first changes in the previously rigid and discriminative policies of the Federal Government with respect to Native Americans, and it is therefore worth specific discussion.

In the context of the present essay, the overall impact of the IRA shall be compared and contrasted with its influence on social life and political situation of the Apache tribal group, so that both general and specific features of the IRA policy framework may be established. The IRA was a product of the efforts of the reform movement that aimed at ameliorating the situation of the various Indian tribes that had been previously targeted for assimilation and/or displacement. It formed an integral part of the so-called ‘Indian New Deal’ that was the result of the spectacular initiatives by John Collier, a man who headed the Bureau for Indian Affairs (BIA) for twelve years, from 1933 to 1945 (Taylor, 1980, p.17). Unlike the majority of his predecessors at this position, Collier has always dreamed of assisting the Indians in restoration of their ancient customs and sense of identity.

While the previous policy of the U.S. Government centered on forceful assimilation of the Indian tribes and the allotment of their communal lands to the individual members of the tribe which then may sell them at will to non-Indian private proprietors and state institutions, Collier moved energetically to reverse this trend. After many obstacles from the side of the more conservative forces had been overcome, his efforts were crystallized in the form of the Indian Reorganization Act. The essence of the IRA lied in the recognition of the principle of self-government of Indian tribes.

Its main idea was the transition from the previously dominant strict oversight and domination of the BIA and the Indian Service over the reservations where the tribal groups were forced to live, towards the recognition of the principle of majority rule and the supposedly equal negotiation between the tribal councils the decisions whereof were subject to majority vote, and the Federal and state governments. The tribal councils were to be responsible for making decisions on such things as lands transactions, being liable to censure from the side of the tribal majority if such decision were to be found contrary to the tribe’s general will.

Each tribal group was to draft its own constitutional charter, with the tribal council playing a role of the While in the 1920s some first efforts at forming the Indian tribal councils were made (e.g. in Apache and Navajo reservations), the latter remained isolated entities completely subordinate to the government-appointed superintendents of reservations. For instance, the Navajo tribal council was formed in 1923 in order to create legal facade for the possible attempt by oil companies to lease mineral prospecting rights on the Navajo lands (Taylor, 1980, p.71). Nonetheless, it was with the introduction of the IRA that such councils became formalized and were granted the rights of legal counsel that had until then rested in superintendents’ hands.

In the economic sphere, the IRA stopped the allotments of communal lands to individual tribespeople, thus cementing old communal forms of property and economic activities. The practice of forced ‘checkerboarding’, i.e. the splitting of communal lands into individual allotments for cultivation, was discouraged, and the integrated development of economic structure of the tribes was to become the principal objective of the reformed Indian Service. The practice of shared reservations, where representatives of several different and sometimes hostile tribes were forced to dwell together, was likewise dropped, and the Federal Government generally moved to protect the specific identity of this or another tribal community.

The impact of the IRA on the Apache people was manifold. Already in the 1920s the Apache tribe became one of the first where a tribal council with the members elected by the majority was established. However, at the same time, it had been functioning more like a business committee (that was actually its official name (Taylor, 1980). The adoption of the IRA enabled the Apache to start forming their own political institutions. The former business committee members at San Carlos reservation set about the regulation of Apache economic infrastructure.

The new grazing and stock regulations were established, while from 1946 the Tribal Council started managing two tribal stores, negotiating with non-Native-owned businesses for leasing the parts of tribal lands for asbestos mining, etc. By 1955, the San Carlos Apache reservation became a profitable corporation, run by the managers of Apache descent (Spicer, 2006, p.259). The same situation eventually developed with other major Apache settlements. In the political sense, the institution of the new tribal constitutional charters made the Apache closer to the Anglo-American system of governance, while preserving the elements of direct democracy inherent in the tribal structure.

It both made the Apache more ‘modern’ and gor them conform with the U.S. political standards. In total, therefore, the impact of the IRA upon the Apache people was controversial. On the one hand, it gave them the political instruments necessary for resisting the attempts at cultural assimilation and allowed them to determine their economic policies themselves. On the other hand, the IRA provided for the smoother transformation of the Indian communities, including the Apache ones, in accordance with consumerist standards of their White neighbors.

The Native American reservations became commercialized, with the tribes being turned into the joint-stock businesses. While profitable in the short-term, such developments may have some adverse consequences for the traditional cultures of the Apache and other Native Americans. References Niiska, C. (2001, June 22). Indian courts: A brief history. The Ojibwe News, p.1. Spicer, E.H. (2006). Cycles of conquest: The impact of Spain, Mexico and the United States on the Indians of the Southwest, 1533-1960 (12th ed.). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.

Taylor, G.D. (1980). The New Deal and American Indian tribalism: The administration of the Indian Reorganization Act, 1934-45. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. 

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/anthropology/1442603-sindian-reorganization-act
(The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe Essay)
https://studentshare.org/anthropology/1442603-sindian-reorganization-act.
“The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/anthropology/1442603-sindian-reorganization-act.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and Its Impact on Apache Tribe

Black Diaspora and the Founding of Liberia

… According to the report the role United States in Liberia is strong because of its historic ties.... They wanted to see Africa as a whole, united in its dream.... It is the ‘political project' to allow those in African diaspora to return by way of unification of all the Africans in a single African state4 the intellectual roots of the movement strongly lie in the racial conception of Africa by its founders, the African American and the Afro-Caribbean intellectuals....
16 Pages (4000 words) Research Paper

Role of Globalization in Structuring Economy

Globalization and its various concepts will be discussed in order to get a better view of its present status as well as history and evolution.... ?? Thus it can be understood that no particular definition is capable of defining globalization encompassing its entire positive and negative traits....
25 Pages (6250 words) Research Paper

The Governance of Globalisation; Is it time for an alternative approach

Despite the criticism levied against it, the WTO has been successful in the past 50 years to provide a mechanism to avoid protectionism and trade retaliation, with its Council having authorised retaliation through tariff increases in very few cases.... The process of globalisation started with advances in transportation technology in the second half of the nineteenth century which resulted in the colonization of countries outside Europe and America....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Leadership Profile: Muhammad Ali Jinnah

This idealism, combined with his feeling, dating back to the London days, that there was a role for him on India's political stage, led him to join the indian National Congress in 1906 and, three years later, to make a bid, which proved successful, to enter the Imperial Legislative Council as the nominee of the Muslims of Bombay.... Great leaders are those who employ and focus the appropriate combination of elements on the dot to impact their world in impressive ways....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Apache Tribe

Lastly, the examination of today's Apachean tribe will showcase their presence and coexistence in the modern day America.... As a collective term for various ethnically related Native American tribes, the apache people represent the indigenous tribes that inhabit North America.... As such, the apache is a general term for these Native American groups which included the Western apache, Chiricahua,… Sharing a linguistically related language known as Southern Athapaskan (Apachean language), these sub tribes are found in the Southwest Cultural region in North America which now include Oklahoma and Texas and on reservations in Arizona and New According to Waldman (2006), several Athapaskan-speaking tribes from present-day Western Canada migrated to the southwest region in the 1400s and became known as apache while in other areas they are called Navajo....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

William E. Leuchtenburg, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal 1932-1940

The depression led to the loss of several Republican seats especially in 1932 and 1934 because they were out of favor of the masses.... In 1934, Upton Sinclair was elected Governor and loses seat after Republicans and Democrats campaign against him because of his unpopular policies (152).... n 1935, the social security act was enacted that enabled pension provision to retired Americans, and had insurance provisions to protect people who lost their jobs, and the needy and disabled were considered....
1 Pages (250 words) Book Report/Review

Size and Hydrological Features of Chile

m long and lies on the 380 latitude and its southernmost tip where Horn Island is situated where there is a cape which is lying on the 560.... its geographic coordinates are 710 W & 300 W.... As per Ezequiel Martinez Estrada, a famous Argentine writer, Chile is worst-shaped and worst-located country in the earth as it is a nation of a long thin ribbon of land (Collier & Sater 2004: xix)....
49 Pages (12250 words) Research Paper

Discovery of Crude Oil and Development of the Industry

Now, Nigeria has to stand by its feet and recover from all these and the only way to financial recovery is the exportation of more crude oil and the establishment of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.... its first governor-general, Frederick Dealtry Lugard and all British administrators henceforth succeeded in temporarily unifying Nigeria by refusing to absolutely rule the divergent ethnic groups.... Gifted by nature with fertile land and enviable natural resources that had since earlier times beckoned Portuguese and British traders to barter with Nigerian gold, ivory, spices, and palm oil, Nigeria had been self-sufficient economically with all its agricultural and mineral produce....
40 Pages (10000 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us