Describes the activities of the Indian Rights Association between 1923 and 1936, with particular attention to the adverse effect of the allotment policy (division of tribal lands into individually owned plots) on the Five Civilized Tribes. (MH)

Homesteading required abandoning tribal relations, and so the Nooksack, a consistently recognized tribe from the 1850s to the 1880s, became a federally nonrecognized tribe. (Author)

Second in a 3-part series of case studies tracing the impact of the "Anglo revolution" on New Mexico, this article traces the effect of the "Anglo revolution" in the history of New Mexico's vast Maxwell Land Grant, which involves property ownership and property law. (Editor/NQ)

News and editorial coverage of the Ponca controversy of 1879 was investigated in an effort to discover why and how this particular Indian story became a national crusade. The Ponca campaign helped promote reform-minded legislation which conferred new rights on the Indians and promised to speed their assimilation into mainstream society. The Dawes…

Examines the Sioux Nation Black Hills Act (1987) as a proposed settlement of the Black Hills claim by the Sioux. Examines bill in terms of American legal history. Suggests the legislation would create legal confusion, conflict, and racial tension. Criticizes bill as harming regional resource management efforts. (TES)

The U.S. Constitution established the broad legal frame for the U.S. political order; the ordinances provided the indispensable means for the expansion of that order across the continent. The first effort at organizing the northwest occurred in 1784. Written by Thomas Jefferson, the Ordinance of 1784 defined the stages through which territories…

Traces the history of the Canadian and New York Cayuga Indians' claims against New York State and other governments from 1780 to the present. Discusses the Cayugas' interaction with neighboring tribes and the terms of a succession of treaties with various White governments. (SB)

Discusses the legal history of ownership claim to Black Hills land in South Dakota by Lakota Sioux Indians and federal government. Examines progress of the Sioux Nation Black Hills Act (1987) as a way to establish a Sioux National Council, a vibrant legal panel linking the Lakota with their past. (TES)

Describes the history of taxation of Nebraska land held by federal government for Omaha and Winnebago Indians. Explains taxation of land "trust allotments" to individual Indians. Describes federal legislation of 1910 and 1916 that further authorized Nebraska taxation of land, causing many Indians to sell allotments. Contains 42…

Presents an overview of Turner's thesis that the migration westward produced a unique democratic tradition and a distinctive American character. Discusses Richard Hofstadter's and Ray Allen Bellington's reactions to this thesis. Notes the concepts of Bellington in support of Turner' thesis and those concepts of Hofstadter that oppose Turner's…

Although 1887-1930 is characterized as the period of assimilation, American Indian policy during that time included coercion to acquire tribal land and natural resources. This policy is illustrated by the experience of the Gros Ventres and Assiniboines of Fort Belknap Reservation who lost control of timber, minerals, and water rights. (JHZ)

Christian (1880-1900) and Progressive (1920-1940) reforms affected the U.S. government's attempt to acculturate and educate American Indians. Religious groups supported the Dawes Allotment Act (1887), which allotted parcels of land, previously tribally held, to individual Indians. This led to de-tribalization, loss of cultural identity, and loss…

The cornerstones of the Indian perspective on their relationship to American government and society lie in the fact that the Indians are the aboriginal owners of the New World and that their formal association with the U.S. is based on formal treaties. Indian tribes consider themselves as separate and sovereign nations. In early American history,…

Develops a lesson in which students analyze an 1894 petition to the federal government from Moqui women, asking that their matrilineal system of land use not be disturbed. Focuses on cultural differences between perceptions of land ownership. Highlights the Moqui's adjustment to southwestern aridity and John Wesley Powell's efforts to influence…