Standard Two
Curriculum Summary
Grades:
Ninth through Twelfth
Students will demonstrate knowledge of key events in American Indian history and how
these events relate to the current land tenure of American Indian tribes and individuals.
RATIONALE
Modern Indian land tenure is a result of centuries-long history between natives and their
colonizers. Huge native land losses were a result of warfare, displacement, assimilation,
broken treaties, tax lien foreclosures, congressional diminishment, executive orders, forced
evictions, illegal settlement by non-natives and illegitimate sales. Furthermore, highly
complex relationships between federal government, tribal governments, and state
governments have evolved, created by treaties, legislation, executive orders and court
decisions. All of this has had an enormous impact on modern Indian land tenure, which
cannot be fully understood without an understanding of the history of American Indian
colonization. In addition to exploring the history of domestic colonization and subsequent
changes in land tenure, principles of European colonization are further explored in relation
to indigenous homeland losses in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South
America.
Lesson 1:
Achievement Goal:
Explain the origins of modern tribal sovereignty through knowledge of the early
history of European settlement in North America.
In the first part of this lesson, students will examine maps and chronologies of European
colonization of North America. In studying this maps and chronologies, students will identify key
events in history that reveal the early recognition of tribal sovereignty in North America. They will
also identify events signifying and causing the erosion of tribal sovereignty, the changes in treatymaking, and how this affected Indian land tenure.
Lesson 2:
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Achievement Goal:
Study the changes in US federal policy towards Indians throughout the 19th
century and how these changes affected the Indian land base.
This lesson will focus on the Great Sioux Reservation as a case study in the transition from a
US federal policy of recognizing tribal sovereignty to the highly problematic federal Indian
policy of Indian removal, extermination, or assimilation.
Lesson 3:
Achievement Goal:
Describe the assumptions behind the implementation of the Dawes Act.
This lesson will attempt to highlight the more disastrous aspects of the Dawes Act. Students
should not come away from this lesson with a facile knowledge of historical facts about the
Dawes Act, but with an understanding of the underlying assumptions behind its
implementation and the scope and magnitude of its effects which continue to haunt Indian
Country today.
Lesson 4:
Achievement Goal:
Describe the termination era of American Indian federal policy. Recognize the
link between tribal well-being and a secure land base.
In this lesson, students will study the termination and restoration of the Klamath as a case study
of assimilationist policies in the 20th century. Learning about the Klamath will also help students
realize the importance of a land base to the strength of a tribe and the well-being of its members.
Lesson 5:
Achievement Goal: Describe, in one’s own words, the impact colonization had on US Indian tribes
and the native land base.
This lesson concludes and summarizes this series of land tenure history lessons. The brief
Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute lesson plan illustrates the destructive nature of US
federal Indian policy on Indian populations and land. The PBS “Culture in Crisis” lesson focuses
more on how the land loss and colonization affected tribal culture. This lesson should impart to
students the importance of land to tribal strength and member well-being, as well as stimulate
their thinking about effective land-based strategies of cultural preservation and political
resurgence.
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Standard Two – Lesson One
Achievement Goal:
Explain the origins of modern tribal
sovereignty through knowledge of the
early history of European settlement in
North America.
Time:
Three class periods
Core:
History, Civics/Government, Geography
th
th
Grades: 9 – 12
Background:
The history of the European colonization of North America is sometimes taught without
regard for the enormous complexities of the period. On one level, North America was
already inhabited by a large number Indian peoples, who were incredibly diverse in their
cultures, languages, social organization, associations, and the size of their community.
These native groups already had complex relationships with other native groups near or in
their region, ranging from peaceful and diplomatic to outright warfare. Thus, many Indian
tribes, communities, nations, and confederacies were already skilled in self-governance,
diplomacy, making strategic alliances, and warfare. In short, they were sovereign.
On another level, European nations were attempting to settle the continent while competing
with each other to dominate portions of the world for increased geopolitical power and
wealth through trade and exploitation of other peoples and their natural resources. They,
too, were skilled at warfare and strategic alliances, which they often made with tribes.
Finally, individual Europeans and smaller groups were colonizing lands in North America
under the auspices of their national government, but also as self-interested individuals
looking for personal profit, to acquire personal landholdings, and create communities in
which they could express particular religious beliefs. Often, the activities of these individual
and groups affected tribes and their lands. As a result, sometimes the national government
had to step in to regulate relations with tribes as to avoid war and bloodshed. Other times,
the national government went to war with Indians to protect these settlers.
All of these complex factors contributed to the recognition of tribal sovereignty very early in
the European settlement of North America. However, as this lesson will reveal, they also
help to explain how tribal sovereignty was gradually dismissed in the course of Indian
removal and treaty breaking. In the first part of this lesson, students will examine maps and
chronologies of European colonization of North America. In studying this maps and
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chronologies, students will identify key events in history that reveal the early recognition of
tribal sovereignty in North America. They will also identify events signifying and causing the
erosion of tribal sovereignty, the changes in treaty-making, and how this affected Indian
land tenure.
Preparation:
•
•
•
In this lesson, the students, in groups of 2 – 4, will be examining a packet or folder of at least one
chronology and several maps. The following are suggested materials to include in the packet (you
will also want to transfer these to an overhead transparency if possible):
o Berkeley Professor Jennifer Spear’s “Chronology of North American Indian History: From
Separation to Assimilation” (http://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/spear/H135/timeline3.pdf) and
“Chronology of North American Indian History: Invasions & Colonization”
(http://history.berkeley.edu/faculty/spear/H135/timeline2.pdf).
o American Indian Civics Project, American Indian Issues: An Introductory Guide for Educators,
“A Chronological History of United States Indian Policy and the Indian Response: from 1789
to the Present”, http://sorrel.humboldt.edu/~go1/kellogg/Chrono.html.
o “European Exploration and Settlement in the United States, 1513-1776”,
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?imageID=203
o The Spread of Colonization, 1600-1700
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?ImageID=226
o “Exploration and Settlement”, 1675-1800
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?imageID=643
o “Exploration and Settlement”, 1800-1820
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?imageID=644
o “Exploration and Settlement”, 1820-1835
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?imageID=645
o “Exploration and Settlement”, 1835-1850
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?imageID=647
o “Exploration and Settlement”, 1850-1890
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?imageID=648
o “The Struggle for Colonial Domination, 1700-1763”
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?ImageID=436
o “World, 1772”
http://www.ancestry.com/search/rectype/reference/maps/freeimages.asp?ImageID=298
Review the Smithsonian Institute’s Campfire Stories with George Catlin “Making Treaties and
Weaving Wampum: Communication Across Cultures” lesson plan,
http://catlinclassroom.si.edu/lessonplans/al-b.html . The treaty timeline activity will be followed here
using the packet of information described above. Also in the Wampum lesson is a chart that
paraphrases the work of Arlene Hirschfelder and Martha Kreipe de Montano, The Native American
Almanac: A Portrait of Native America Today (New York: MacMillan General Reference, 1993), p. 57.
That chart will also be used here to guide students and structure the information they gather.
To introduce the concept of Manifest Destiny to help explain the changes in treaty-making with tribes,
review the lesson plan “Manifest Destiny and Cultural Stereotypes” at PBS’s website,
http://www.pbs.org/warrior/content/modules/manifest.pdf. This site also mentions
http://www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar/mainframe.html as a resource to learn more about Manifest
Destiny. In this site, click on the heading “Dialogues”. To the left, click on “Manifest Destiny” under
the “Prelude to War” heading. Review “Manifest Destiny: An Introduction” and “Native American
Displacement.”
Student Activity:
•
•
Begin the lesson by either showing or reading the following statement to the students: “Indian rights
do not depend on sympathy for the plight or historical mistreatment of Native Americans. Selfdetermination of tribes is rooted in ancient laws and treaties, and is protected against incursions
except those that Congress deliberately allows.” (David H. Getches, “Conquering the Cultural
Frontier: The New Subjectivism of the Supreme Court in Indian Law,” California Law Review 84
(1996).) Tell them that they will have to interpret this statement and assess its validity after this
lesson.
Present a historical overview of the early settlement of North America using the maps listed above to
describe the European “scramble” for foreign lands. After reviewing the maps, ask the students
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•
•
•
•
•
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about the weaknesses of the maps. Although they are helpful in depicting the presence of European
powers outside of Europe, ask the students if they see anything lacking in the maps. What do they
suggest about the tribes native to North America?
Have the students form groups of 2 to 4. Each group should share a packet of maps and the
chronologies. On the board, create a chart similar to the treaty timeline chart found in the “Making
Treaties and Weaving Wumpum” lesson plan. Include the period headings (ex. “Treaties of Alliance
and Peace”), but not the dates nor details (ex. “Indians still strong militarily, numerically, and
economically”) listed in the lesson plan. Students should be informed that they should look at events
from the 1600s to 1868.
Ask the students to review the packet of information in their groups. In this activity, the students will
sift through the maps and chronologies and select events:
o That indicate a colonial recognition or negation of tribal sovereignty
o Events or occurrences that made tribes less resistant to settler encroachment (such as
exposure to disease, or the departure of European powers from US territory)
o Supreme court decisions that limited sovereignty of tribes
o Changes in US Federal policy that affected tribes.
Ask the students to categorize and place the events they selected from the packet information in the
format of the timeline on the board. In other words, if a student selected the 1790 Trade and
Intercourse Act as an important event, they would probably place it in either the “Treaties of Alliance
and Peace” or “Beginning of Land Cessions” periods. It is up to their interpretation since these
periods overlap. In addition to selecting the event, they should write a brief explanation as to why
they feel that event or occurrence is important. The point of the exercise is for students to relate
events and changing circumstances during this period of time to the gradual disregard of the inherent
sovereignty of Indian tribes that resulted in dispossession, removal, and reservations. Each student
group should have no less than eight and no more than 15 events in their timeline.
After this activity, on the board, write down the dates Hirschfelder and Montano used to describe the
treaty timeline periods.
Each group will present to the class which events they felt were most important and write these
events on the board timeline. In their presentations, they should also give a short explanation as to
why they chose those dates. After all of the groups have presented, assign the task of coping down
the timeline to a student or group of students. Tell them this timeline will be reproduced for the
students for their own reference.
Introduce the concept of Manifest Destiny to the class and explain how this fueled the westward
expansion sanctioned by the US government despite treaties and how it affected Indian land tenure.
Read, reprint, or visually present the quote from John Mohawk to show students a native perspective
of Manifest Destiny.
Conclude the activity with an in class discussion of how treaty making and Euro-American views of
tribal sovereignty changed over time. Review the events that caused this change and how it affected
the Indian land base. Reread the statement by David Getches to the class again and ask them to
interpret what it means and assess its validity.
Evaluation:
•
Student participation in the group study activity, as well as the class presentations will provide an
assessment of student’s knowledge and perceptions of the subject matter.
Resources:
1. http://sorrel.humboldt.edu/~go1/kellogg/federalrelations.html A Brief Historical Overview of the
Relationship between the Federal Government and American Indian: From Colonial Times to the
Present.
2. www.ancestry.com
3. PBS, “Warrior in Two Worlds”, http://www.pbs.org/warrior/.
4. Smithsonian Institute’s “Campfire Stories with George Catlin”,
http://catlinclassroom.si.edu/lessonplans/al-b.html.
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Standard Two – Lesson
Two
Achievement Goal:
Study the changes in US federal policy
towards Indians throughout the 19th
century and how these changes affected
the Indian land base.
Time:
3-4 Class Periods
Core:
History, Civics/Government
th
th
Grades: 9 – 12
Background:
In 1868, when Congress declared that there would be no further treaties with American
Indian tribes, the treaty-making process had already undergone tremendous changes. As
lesson one in this standard demonstrated, the earliest treaties were made in order to secure
peaceful relations with strongly armed Indian nations and confederacies. Gradually, as
tribes were overwhelmed with the large numbers of non-natives moving in their territories
and extermination or removal of Indians became a federal policy, treaties became means
by which the US government secured title to land for future settlement. In the later part of
this transformation, treaties were routinely broken by the US government as Congress
began to simply manufacture agreements and legislate takings of land. This lesson will
focus on the Great Sioux Reservation as a case study in this transition from a policy of
recognizing tribal sovereignty to the highly problematic federal Indian policy of Indian
removal, extermination, or assimilation – a policy which many non-natives of the time
described as “civilizing the Indian”.
Preparation:
•
If possible, set up internet access in the classroom that will enable students to view several online
maps in class. Preferably, these maps should be somehow projected for everyone to see. If this is
not possible, pass out copies of the maps listed below:
o
“Western Reservations, 1875”, http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/map75.htm, Source: United
States, Office of Indian Affairs, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to the
Secretary of the Interior for the Year 1875 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875),
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flyleaf, NADP Document M75. Made available online by Native American Documents Project,
California State University, San Marcos.
o
“American Indian Reservations”, http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/512indre.pdf, United
States Census Bureau.
o
“Indian Reservations, 1875”,
http://www.thebearbyte.com/Maps/NativeAmericanLandsMaps/Res1875_JPG.html, E.T.
Bear’s “The Bear’s Byte”.
o
“Indian Reservations, 1900”,
http://www.thebearbyte.com/Maps/NativeAmericanLandsMaps/Res1900_JPG.html, E. T.
Bear’s “The Bear’s Byte”.
•
Review the National Archives and Records Administration lesson plan “Sioux Treaty of 1868”,
http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/lessons/sioux_treaty_1868/sioux_treaty_1868.html,
particularly the “Document Analysis” section. This section and the online documents will be used
here.
•
Review the “Fight No More” section of PBS’s “New Perspectives on the West” website,
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/episodes/six/index.htm, particularly the “Tatanka-Iyotanka”
and “A Good Day to Die” portions. The online text will suffice for this lesson, but as a supplement
consider purchasing the video of this episode.
•
Download and copy “Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs – 1876” for students from the
Native American Documents Project, California State University, San Marcos,
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/r876001.htm. You will only have to copy the first 10 pages of this
document, ending at the section entitled “The Sioux Commission.”
•
This lesson will also be utilizing maps from “Indian Land Cessions in the United States, 1784-1894”,
complied by Charles C. Royce, made available online by the Library of Congress, American Memory,
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwss-ilc.html. The system is rather complicated to navigate at
first, but the following instructions will help you access the three Acts of Congress and Executive
Orders that this lesson will review to show the dismantling of the Great Sioux Reservation. The
cessions to be examined are summarized in the following table.
Date
Page #
Map
Land Cession #
Notes
Sept. 26, 1876,
888-889
Dakota ~1
598
This “agreement” with 10% of
adult male Sioux was
government justification for the
confiscation of the Black Hills.
“Agreement”
Feb 28th, 1877,
Act of Congress
888-889
Aug. 9, 1879,
Executive Order
896-897
Dakota~2
614
Section 614 restored to the
public domain.
March 2, 1889,
Act of Congress
930-931
Dakota~3
699
The act divides the Great Sioux
Reservation into Pine Ridge
(700), Rosebud (701), Standing
Rock (702), Cheyenne River
(703), Lower Brule (704), and
Crow Creek (705). Section 699
represents the land placed back
into the public domain. This act
also began the allotment of these
reservations.
o
Ratifies the “agreement” of Sept.
26, 1876. Amounts to gov’t
confiscation of Black Hills.
To access “Dakota~1” map to view the cession of the Black Hills: On the home page, of the
Indian Land Cessions site, select “Browse by date”. Select “1876”. Select “September 26, 1876”.
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At the bottom of this map, where there is the option of “View Maps”, select “Dakota~1”. On this
map, the cession you will point out to the students is numbered 589. Use the “Zoom In” view
finder. The cession is in the lower left portion of the map, present-day western South Dakota.
o
•
To access other land cessions listed in the chart, follow the same procedure: Browse by date,
select year, select day, view map. For the Act of March 2, 1889, the division of the Great Sioux
Reservation is “Item 3”.
Finally, review and make available the first portion of the Supreme Court Decision, United States v.
Sioux Nation of Indians, 448 U.S. 371 (1980),
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=448&invol=371.
Student Activity
•
Class period 1. Begin this lesson by reviewing the “Western Reservations, 1875” map with students.
Show them the modern reservation map from the US Census Bureau. Ask them to compare the
maps, pointing out specific reservations that may have changed in size. Review with the students the
“Indian Reservations, 1875” and “Indian Reservations 1900” maps. State that this lesson will be
looking at the history of reservation diminishment by focusing on the Great Sioux Reservation, which,
on the 1875 map, is comprised of almost the entire area of what is now known as South Dakota.
•
On the 1875 Map, point out the Black Hills. They are represented by the marking on the WyomingSouth Dakota border. Explain the significance of the Black Hills to the Sioux.
•
Ask the students to complete the National Archives “Sioux Treaty of 1868” document analysis activity
using the online images and documents. If the document is too difficult to read, an html version can
be found at http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/four/ftlaram.htm.
•
After the students examine and discuss the terms of the treaty, preview its future by presenting the
history of miner incursion into the Black Hills and the Battle at Little Bighorn River.
•
Class period 2. If available, show the “Tatanka-Iyotanka” and “A Good Day to Die” segments of the
PBS video “The West”, episode six. If this is not available, have the students read the text on the
PBS website, or choose an appropriate alternative text.
•
For a different perspective, assign the class “The Sioux War” section in the “Report of the
Comissioner of Indian Affairs”. Ask the students how the Commissioner views Sitting Bull’s Band.
Ask the students to compare and contrast the views of the Commissioner and members of the Band
as to why the Band is defying the US Government.
•
For the next class period, assign the students the Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
introduction, “The Policy to be Pursued”, “Consolidation of Reservations”, “Allotments in Severalty”,
and “Law for Indians”. Warn the students that the Commissioner writes some offensive and racist
things, but the document reveals how his prejudice blinds him to the fact that there are glaring
inconsistencies in his report. These inconsistencies mirror the extremely problematic nature of
federal Indian policy at this time in general. Ask the students to consider and come to class prepared
to discuss the following: What are the Commissioner’s views of white men and natives? How does
the Commissioner think Indians will become “civilized” and survive as a people? Why does the
Commissioner feel it is so important for natives to learn how to labor? Why does the Commisioner
feel it is more important to control the actions of natives rather than white men? Why would the
Commissioner suggest opening reservation lands to settlers, if greedy settlers are the reasons for
conflict between Indians and white men? What is the Commissioner’s views of tribal sovereignty?
Ask the students to think about the ways in which this policy is logically incoherent.
•
Class period 3. Begin the class with a discussion of the Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Spend time with the students fleshing out the contradictions found in the document. After this, inform
the students that this document mirrors the ideas and prejudices of US bureaucrats and politicians
generally. Review the history of Indian policy of the time, stating that in 1871, Congress stopped
making treaties with Indian tribes and began subjecting them to acts of Congress and executive
orders. Explain how this shift is a reflection of the acute disregard for tribal sovereignty. Explain how
this policy affected the Indian land base by examining the break up of the Great Sioux Reservation
through maps of Indian land cessions.
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•
Show the students how the September 26, 1876 “Agreement”, the August 9, 1879 Executive Order,
and the March 2, 1889 Act of Congress reduced and divided the Great Sioux Reservation by locating
their corresponding land cessions on the online maps. Make sure that students understand the
geographic location and size of these cessions. Pay special attention to the “Agreement” of the Sioux
to relinquish the Black Hills in direct violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty.
•
After reviewing the maps, read the overview of the 1980 Supreme Court case United States vs. Sioux
Nation of Indians to the students. Update the students that, to this day, the Sioux have not accepted
the payment for the Black Hills and are working to have the land returned. Discuss with the students
the worth of treaties and how the court decision reflects a change in attitude towards tribal
sovereignty that, while still tenuous, offers some hope for tribes.
•
As an additional activity, consider asking students to research the history of the establishment of and
changes in the reservation they live on or near.
Evaluation:
•
Student engagement in class discussions based on their observations of maps and the analysis of
documents and readings is crucial in this lesson. Students should demonstrate knowledge of the size
and location of the Great Sioux Reservation. After the document analysis of the Fort Laramie Treaty,
the students should be familiar with the treaty provisions, particularly as they pertain to the Black Hills
and hunting rights. The students should be aware of the shift in Indian policy that negated the tribal
sovereignty recognized by treaties and moved towards the removal and/or assimilation of Indian
people. Students should be able to describe the racial prejudices behind this policy and its
contradictions. The students should recognize the affects of this policy, and the affects of Acts of
Congress and Executive Orders of the Indian land base. Finally, students should be aware of how
treaties are still relevant and important today, but also how ambiguously the US government regards
them.
Resources:
•
Native American Documents Project, California State University, San Marcos,
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/index.html.
•
U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov.
•
The Bear’s Byte, E. T. Bear, http://www.thebearbyte.com.
•
The National Archives and Records Administration, http://www.archives.gov.
•
PBS, The West, http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/.
•
Library of Congress, American Memory, Indian Land Cessions in the United States, 1784-1894,
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwss-ilc.html.
•
Find Law, http://lp.findlaw.com/.
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Standard Two – Lesson Three
Achievement Goal:
Describe the assumptions behind the
implementation of the Dawes Act.
Time:
2-3 Class Periods
Core:
History, Civics/Government
th
th
Grades: 9 – 12
Background:
Although the allotment of Indians lands was institutionalized in 1887 by the Dawes Act, the
affects of this seemingly bygone piece of legislation have created the most challenging
tasks tribes and Indian communities face today.
In brief, proponents of allotment, who were mainly progressive non-natives living in the
Eastern United States, believed the individual ownership of land would make Indians a
sedentary, “civilized” people, who disregarded their leaders and the cohesiveness of the
tribe. The allotment advocates envisioned Indians adopting the habits, practices, and
interests of the new settler population.
The Allotment Act was applied to reservations by the US President whenever, in his
opinion, it was advantageous for particular Indian tribes. Members of the selected tribe or
reservation were given permission to select pieces of land—usually around 40 to 160 acres
in size—for themselves and their children. If the amount of reservation land exceeded the
amount needed for allotment, then the federal government could negotiate to purchase the
land from the tribes and then sell it to non-tribal settlers. Sixty million acres were either
ceded outright or sold to non-Indian homesteaders and corporations as “surplus lands”.
The faulty assumptions behind these visions and the eagerness of non-natives to acquire
native land rendered the allotment of Indians lands a complete disaster. In addition to the
loss of 90 millions acres from the Indian land base, allotment had a significant social impact
on Indian communities. This lesson will attempt to highlight these aspects of the Dawes
Act. Students should not come away from this lesson with a facile knowledge of historical
facts about the Dawes Act, but with an understanding of the underlying assumptions behind
its implementation and the scope and magnitude of its effects which continue to haunt
Indian Country today.
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Preparation:
•
Obtain a landownership map of an allotted reservation to illustrate “checkerboarding” to students.
Preferably, this should be a reservation on which most students live on or near. A map without any
specific landowner information can usually be found at the Tribal land office, realty office, or GIS
shop. If such a map cannot be found, there is landownership map of Rosebud Reservation, South
Dakota, which may be found at http://www.indianlandtenure.org in the Introduction of the Allotment
section. There is also a map of Fond du Lac Reservation, Minnesota, found at
http://www.fdlrez.com/nr/maps/landownership.htm. There is also a map of Nez Perce Reservation in
PDF format after this lesson.
•
To teach students about the various forms of landownership on reservations, you may want to create
a glossary to hand out defining the following: Tribal trust land or land in-trust, individual trust land, fee
simple land, restricted land, and allotments. Definitions of these terms can also be found at the
Indian Land Tenure Foundations Allotment pages in the Glossary section,
http://www.indianlandtenure.org/ILTFallotment/glossary/terms.htm.
•
Review and print the Dawes Act (General Allotment Act of 1887). The original act can be found at
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol1/HTML_files/SES0033.html . A summary of the Act can
be found at http://www.indianlandtenure.org/ILTFallotment/histlegis/GeneralAllotmentAct.htm. Make
copies for your students to read.
•
This lesson relies heavily on document analysis and textual interpretation. So the students may
examine the underlying assumptions about the “civilizing” influence of individual land ownership,
reprint the following paragraph which was written by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, J. Q. Smith,
in his 1876 Report to the Secretary of Interior.
Allotments in Severalty
It is doubtful whether any high degree of civilization is possible without individual
ownership of land. The records of the past and the experience of the present testify
that the soil should be made secure to the individual by all the guarantees which law
can devise, and that nothing less will induce men to put forth their best exertions. No
general law exists which provides that Indians shall select allotments in severalty,
and it seems to me a matter of great moment that provision should be made not only
permitting, but requiring, the head of each Indian family, to accept the allotment of a
reasonable amount of land, to be the property of himself and his lawful heirs, in lieu
of any interest in any common tribal possession. Such allotments should be
inalienable for at least twenty, perhaps fifty years, and if situated in a permanent
Indian reservation, should be transferable only among Indians.
I am not unaware that this proposition will meet with strenuous opposition from the
Indians themselves. Like the whites, they have ambitious men, who will resist to the
utmost of their power any change tending to reduce the authority which they have
acquired by personal effort or by inheritance; but it is essential that these men and
their claims should be pushed aside and that each individual should feel that his
home is his own; that he owes no allegiance to any great man or to any faction; that
he has a direct personal interest in the soil on which he lives, and that that interest
will be faithfully protected for him and for his children by the Government.
The report in its entirety can be found at CSU’s Native American Documents Project,
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/r876001.htm.
•
Read and review another formal US Government statement on the allotment of Indian lands at PBS’s
site, http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/seven/indpol.htm. This text is thenPresident Chester Arthur’s statement on Indian policy reform. Make this statement available for
students on the internet or through a handout.
•
Review “The Nez Perce and the Dawes Act” lesson plan at PBS’s New Perspectives on the West
website, particularly Activity 3, question 4,
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/lesson_plans/lesson03.htm .
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•
Read, print out or make accessible, the first four selections from “With the Nez Perce” by Jane R.
Gay, http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/fletcher.htm. Review and make
available the biography of the Indian agent who allotted the Nez Perce, Alice Fletcher, at
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/d_h/fletcher.htm .
•
Obtain a copy of Native American Testimony: A Chronicle of Indian-White Relations from Prophecy
to the Present, 1492-2000, Peter Nabokov. From Chapter 13, select at least one of the following and
make accessible to students: “Hearts on the Ground”. “Life on the Checkerboard”, “Big Men’s Rules
and Laws”, “The Outrage of Allotment”, “Farming and Futility”.
•
If time permits, have the students investigate further laws that made it easier for Indian allotments to
become alienated to non-natives. These Acts include the Burke Act (1906), which was an
amendment to the Dawes Act that effectively eliminated the twenty-five year trust period for
allotments. This act can be found online at http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/a1906.htm. Another act
includes the 1910 omnibus act, which deals with a number of issues arising from allotment;
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/a1910.htm.
•
Read, review, and make available “What were the results of allotment?” by Professor E.A. Schwartz,
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/asubject.htm.
Student Activities:
•
Begin the lesson by presenting the landownership map showing “checkerboarding” on Indian
reservations. Ask the students if they thought that all land in Indian reservations was owned by the
tribe. Review and briefly discuss the various types of landownership on Indian reservations. Briefly
discuss the problems that arise from such scramble of ownership, such as jurisdictional issues,
access to natural resources, and challenges to land use planning. Explain that checkerboarding in
reservations was a direct result of the General Allotment act of 1887, which is also known as the
Dawes Act. Summarize the key points of the allotment act or have the students read the Act itself or
its summary.
•
Ask the students to investigate the assumptions about the importance of individual ownership
underlying the Dawes Act by reading and thinking critically about the excerpt from the Report of the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs (above) and President Chester Arthur’s statement on “Indian Policy
Reform”. After reading this, lead a discussion of how the assimilation of Indians into white society
was a justification for the Dawes Act, and how valid and viable this solution to the “Indian Problem”
seems. To organize this discussion, follow Question 4 of Activity 3 of “The Nez Perce and the Dawes
Act” lesson plan at PBS.org.
•
To understand the Indian opposition to the Dawes Act and the difficulty in its implementation, have
the students read, compare and contrast the viewpoints of E. Jane Gay in selections from “With the
Nez Perce” and the American Indians in Chapter 13 of Native American Testimony. The biography of
Fletcher, who is the Indian agent at Lapwai (whom Gay often refers to as “Her Majesty”), gives some
additional background on the reformers who sought the implementation of the Dawes Act and the
resistance of native people. This comparison should be done either through class discussion or short
essay.
•
If time permits, have students review further legislation which made it easier for allotments to pass
out of Indian ownership, such as the Burke Act and the 1910 Omnibus Act.
•
Conclude the lesson by having students examine and discuss Professor E.A. Schwartz’s “What were
the results of allotment?”. Ask the students why Historian Francis Prucha called the Dawes Act “the
beginning of a new order of things?” Do they agree with this? If the students cite reasons for its
failure, have them refer back to the original act and circle the provisions that resulted in this failure
and negative effect on Indian country.
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Resources:
•
Indian Land Tenure Foundation, http://www.indianlandtenure.org.
•
Kappler’s Indian Affairs and Treaties,
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol1/HTML_files/SES0033.html.
•
California State University, San Marcos, Native American Documents Project,
http://www.csusm.edu/nadp/r876001.htm.
•
PBS, New Perspectives on the West, http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/ .
•
Nabokov, Peter. Native American Testimony: A Chronicle of Indian-White Relations from Prophecy
to the Present, 1492-2000. New York, NY: Penguin, 1992.
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Standard Two – Lesson Four
Achievement Goal:
Describe the termination era of American
Indian federal policy. Recognize the link
between tribal well-being and a secure
land base.
Time:
One class period
Core:
History, Civics/Government
th
th
Grades: 9 – 12
Background:
After the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934 had ended allotment, tribal self-governance
began to be emphasized in federal policy. It seemed that tribes and the US government
were finally making progress towards the genuine promotion of tribal self-determination and
sovereignty.
However, many in the federal government were still under the impression that the progress
of Native Americans meant their assimilation into mainstream society. This persistent idea,
combined with concerns about reducing federal spending and land claims payouts, resulted
in a push Congress to withdraw the federal government from the affairs of Indian tribes
beginning in 1946.
However, to withdraw the federal government from Indian affairs did not just necessitate the
withdrawal of paternalistic supervision over tribes. To “set the Indians free” (in the words of
some termination supporters) required the termination of their tribal status, or, to put it
another way, dissolve their identity as Indian tribes in the eyes of the federal government
and end the federal-tribal trust relationship. This meant cutting social services to tribes and
authorizing the sale and lease of restricted Indian lands to non-Indian individuals and
corporations.
Approximately 109 tribes and bands were terminated and 1,365,801 acres of Indian land
was taken by the time the policy officially died in 1970 when President Nixon asked for its
repeal. In the Pacific Northwest, the Klamath, then a tribe of 2,133 people, lost 862,662
acres, the single largest amount of land lost during termination.
In this lesson, students will study the termination and restoration of the Klamath as a case
study of assimilationist policies in the 20th century. Learning about the Klamath will also
help students realize the importance of a land base to the strength of a tribe and the wellbeing of its members.
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Preparation:
•
Obtain a copy of Francis Paul Pruchas, The Great Father: The United States Government and the
American Indians, Vol I and II (unabridged), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995. If the book
is not available in the two-volume-in-one version, attain the second volume. Copy the following
sections for the students to read: the introduction to Part Nine, Termination (pages 1013-1016 in the
unabridged version); Chapter 41, Termination in Action, ending before the paragraph that begins
“The Menominee Tribe was the most noted case of termination…” (pages 1041-1049 in the
unabridged version).
•
Review the online article “The Long Struggle Home: The Klamath Tribes’ fight to restore their land,
people, and economic self-sufficiency” on the Klamath Tribes’ website,
http://www.klamathtribes.org/tribal-lands-restoration.htm. In order to teach students about the effects
of termination, create a handout with excerpts from this article for students.
•
Review the Klamath Tribe’s statement on their termination and restoration,
http://www.klamathtribes.org/TerminationStatement.html. Make this available to students
representing Klamath members opposed to termination.
•
Acquire a copy of the 1957 article, “Termination of Federal Supervision: The Removal of Restrictions
Over Indian Property and Person,” by Arthur V. Watkins, a senator from Utah and former chairman of
the Indian Subcommittee of the Senate Interior Committee, in The Annals of the American Academy
of Political Science 311 (1957): 55. This should be copied and handed out to the students
representing the US government in the class debate.
Student Activities:
•
Split the class into two groups – a group representing members of the US government seeking to
terminate the Klamath and a group representing Klamaths opposed to termination. To all the
students, assign the termination sections described above in Prucha’s, The Great Father: The United
States Government and the American Indian. In addition to this, have the Klamath representatives
read the Klamath Tribes’ statement and have the US government representatives read Senator
Watkins’ article. They should read this before class in preparation of participating in a mock debate
about the termination of the Klamath.
•
To begin the lesson, review with the students a brief history of federal Indian policy after the Indian
Reorganization Act, which ended the allotment of Indian lands in 1934. From 1934 to 1953, federal
Indian policy was characterized by an effort to reorganize Indian governments. While this was
ostensibly done to revitalize tribal government, culture, and language, it was implemented in such a
way that many American Indians believed the US government was imposing an idea of what Indians
should be like on Indian tribes. From 1953 to 1956, federal Indian policy was characterized by an
effort to begin terminating the trust relationship between American Indians and the federal
government.
•
Explain to the students that they will explore the arguments for and against this policy in a mock
hearing in which students will debate about whether or not the Klamath Tribe should be terminated.
The hearing should be imagined to take place before the Klamath Termination Act of 1954. Before
the debate, have each group brainstorm a list of arguments either for or against the termination of the
Klamath which can be summarized in a five minute presentation by a representative from each group.
After each presentation, allow the groups to debate the matter further for about 10 minutes. They
should remain in their roles until this debate is over.
•
After the debate, ask the students to discuss what they really think about the termination of the
Klamath. Present information on what actually happened after the termination of the Klamath,
particularly in socio-economic and cultural terms. Hand out the excerpts from the article “The Long
Struggle Home” and ask students to point out the challenges the Klamaths have had to face due to
the termination of their tribe.
•
In concluding this lesson, situate the termination of the Klamath in the larger context of the policy of
termination, and the tendency of federal Indian policy to promote the assimilation and/or elimination
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of tribes during the early 20th century. Also, emphasize the connection of the Klamaths’ well-being to
their land and how this case study reveals the importance of tribal land to American Indians.
Resources:
•
Francis Paul Prucha, The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians,
Vol I and II (unabridged), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.
•
The Klamath Tribes, http://www.klamathtribes.org/.
•
Arthur V. Watkins, “Termination of Federal Supervision: The Removal of Restrictions Over Indian
Property and Person”. The Annals of the American Academy of Political Science 311 (1957): 55.
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Standard Two – Lesson Five
Achievement Goal:
Describe, in one’s own words, the impact
colonization had on US Indian tribes and
the native land base.
Time:
One class period
Core:
History, Civics/Government
th
th
Grades: 9 – 12
Background:
This lesson concludes and summarizes this series of land tenure history lessons. The brief
Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute lesson plan illustrates the destructive nature of
US federal Indian policy on Indian populations and land. The PBS “Culture in Crisis” lesson
focuses more on how the land loss and colonization affected tribal culture. This lesson
should impart to students the importance of land to tribal strength and member well-being,
as well as stimulate their thinking about effective land-based strategies of cultural
preservation and political resurgence.
Preparation:
•
Review the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute’s (NIARI) lesson plan “Colonization Effects
from First Encounter through US Federal Policy”,
http://niari.evergreen.edu/nwindian/curriculum/federalpolicy.html. For this lesson plan, you will need
to download or copy the “Federal Policy Activity: American Indian decimation by disease, violence,
genocide, and federal policy”, found at
http://niari.evergreen.edu/nwindian/curriculum/federalpolicyactivity.html and the First Encounters
Quotes at http://niari.evergreen.edu/nwindian/curriculum/firstencounterquotes.html.
•
Review the PBS lesson plan “Culture in Crisis” focusing on the cultural disruption of the
Haudenosaunee in the 18th and 19th centuries. The lesson plan is found at
http://www.pbs.org/warrior/content/modules/culture.pdf. Copy the lesson plan so students may read
and examine the quotes.
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Student Activities:
•
To help students put the effects of colonization on American Indians in perspective, follow the NIARI’s
“Federal Policy Activity” in class.
•
Have the students read the quotes of several Haudenosaunee scholars in the “Culture and Crisis”
lesson plan. Initiate a student discussion about how colonization and dispossession affected tribal
culture of the Haudenosaunee and other native North American groups generally. Instruct them to
think about the ties between culture and having a “space” for cultural instruction, preservation, and
expression. How can land tenure inform effective strategies of cultural preservation?
Resources:
•
Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute, Culturally Responsive Curriculum for Secondary
Education, http://niari.evergreen.edu/nwindian/curriculum/index.html.
•
PBS, Warrior in Two Worlds, http://www.pbs.org/warrior/indexf.html.
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