Charles Lewis
English 243
Spring Term 2010
May 19th
A Native American reservation is an area of
land managed by a Native American Tribe
under the United States Department of the
Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. There are
about 310 Native American Reservations in
the United States, This means not all tribes
have a reservation. There are over 550
recognized tribes in the United states, some
have more than one reservation while many
don’t have a reservation.
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There are many reasons reservations were
created.
Among the many reasons some are
1) An exploding population of EuroAmerican immigrants.
2) Increased conflict between the immigrants
and the native peoples.
3) The ability to push the growing country’s
economy through agriculture.
4) The ability to force religion especially
individual forms of Christianity on the native
people, in an attempt to get the native people
to abandon previous ways of life.
5) To control the natives, convert them, and
manipulate them for the better of the
country.
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In 1851, the United States Congress passed
the Native American Appropriations Act which
authorized the creation of Native American
reservations in modern day Oklahoma.
By the late 1860’s President Ulysses S. Grant
created a “peace policy.” The policy was
meant to be a solution to the conflicts
between Euro-Americans and, Native
Americans.
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Another goal of the of the “peace Policy” was
to relocate the Native people to parcels of
land that was intentionally set aside for that
reason.
The government officials were then replaced
and the reservations were ran by religious
men specifically Quakers.
The religious men were meant to civilize the
Natives and make them adapt to the new way
of life.
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At times the Natives on the reservations were
bargained with stipends to work for the
church, and for the government.
As we read in Life Among the Piutes , the
stipends were often not delivered.
The reservations were generally created
through and Executive Order, although the
reservations would not be recognized as
official unless approved by congress
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Because the peace policy created most
reservations through Executive orders, it
immediately caused a controversy.
The executive orders that created
reservations but did not make them official
allowed the government to dictate various
factors of the reservations without any
chance of Legal consequences.
It allowed the standards of the reservations to
be horrible.
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Most tribes ignored the relocating orders of
the United States government, and then were
forced by the United States Army. The Army
also restrictd the movement of the Tribes.
The force used by the government caused
some of the most famous Native American
Wars in history.
Among many wars some of these were the
Sioux War, the Battle of Little Bighorn, and the
Nez perce war.
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The policy was considered to be a failure, it
had caused more controversy, and wars than
previous to it’s installment.
The policy was phased out by 1877 by
President Rutherford B Hayes.
By 1882 all religious organizations had been
removed from positions of power in the
reservations.
In 1887 congress implemented the Dawes
Act.
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The Dawes Act called for tribally owned lands
to become individually owned properties.
The act opened up the lands to EuroAmerican immigrants for settlement.
The act Allowed for industrialization,
especially that of agriculture and railroads.
Another example of the economy and the
growth of a country being the deciding factor.
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The Howard-Wheeler Act was put into play in
1934
The Howard-Wheeler Act reversed the
individualization of lands brought on by the
Dawes Act.
The act increased tribal sovereignty, and
reversed many privatizations.
The act was initiated by John Collier
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The act enabled the United States
government to invest health care, schools,
and other infrastructure on the reservations.
Although all the above was sub-par
compared to the infastructures of nonreservation lands.
There was an attempt to end the program
and it was taking affect, although it was
reversed.
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The attempt to end the program was headed
by some members of congress and the new
leaders of the Native American commission.
If the program was ended the government
would be relinquished of any responsibilities
to the Natives.
Before the act was fully terminated some
Natives lost their land, but after the rejection
of the termination they were compensated.
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Of the 300 plus reservations in the United
States today there are a few common
distinctions.
Most reservation life is comparable to a third
world country.
In most reservations alcoholism is an
epidemic, and is yet to be addressed by the
government, or anyone else.
Child abuse is also an epidemic in many
Native American reservations.
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Drug abuse, and a lack of solid education or
also deciding factors that plague most Native
American reservations.
All Native American reservations today are
largely ignored by the federal Government,
and by the citizens of the United States.
If the Natives who live on the reservations are
going to see any improvement in their lives, it
is going to be by a team effort.
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Burns Piute Indian Colony- Harney County
Coos Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw reservationFlorence
Coquille Reservation- Coquille
Grande Ronde Community Reservation- Polk
County
Siletz Reservation- Siletz
Umatilla Reservation- Umatilla county, Union
county
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Warm Springs Reservation- Wasco, Jefferson,
Marion, Clackamas, and Linn Counties.
Klamath Reservation- Klamath Falls.
Many of the Reservations in Oregon fit the
prototypical stereotype of all reservations.
Many suffer from the same type of
dysfunctions, and are yet to see any outside
help.
The End
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_reservati
on
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/trib
es/reservations/rezhistory.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/indianreservation-2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_r
eservations_in_Oregon
500nations.com/Oregon_Tribes.asp
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There are many Acts I did not mention due to
time constraints, and the complexity of the
situations.
An entire course could be taught on the
History of Native American Reservations
I also did not venture into the small legal
aspects of Native American Reservations I did
understand, once again due to time and
complexity.