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American Indian Laws and Policies (view source)
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=== 1884 - The Indian Census Act === | === 1884 - The Indian Census Act === | ||
An act passed by the United States Congress on July 4, 1884 (23 Stat. 980) required the superintendents or agents of the Office of Indian Affairs on each reservation to record information about individuals living on each reservation. The data on the rolls vary to some extent, but usually given are the English and/or Indian name of the person, roll number, age or date of birth, sex, and relationship to head of family. Beginning in 1930, the rolls also show the degree of Indian blood, marital status, ward status, place of residence, and sometimes other information. There is not a census for every reservation or group of Indians for every year. Only persons who maintained a formal affiliation with a tribe under federal supervision are listed on these census rolls. The resulting records cover 1885 to 1940. | An act passed by the United States Congress on July 4, 1884 (23 Stat. 980) required the superintendents or agents of the Office of Indian Affairs on each reservation to record information about individuals living on each reservation. The data on the rolls vary to some extent, but usually given are the English and/or Indian name of the person, roll number, age or date of birth, sex, and relationship to head of family. Beginning in 1930, the rolls also show the degree of Indian blood, marital status, ward status, place of residence, and sometimes other information. There is not a census for every reservation or group of Indians for every year. Only persons who maintained a formal affiliation with a tribe under federal supervision are listed on these census rolls. The resulting records cover 1885 to 1940. | ||
=== 1887 - The Dawes or General Allotment Act === | === 1887 - The Dawes or General Allotment Act === | ||
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The Dawes Act may have been well intentioned, but much of the lands assigned was poor and difficult to farm. As a reult, the "surplus" land provision caused the Indians to lose approximately 90 million out of 140 acres of reservation land. | The Dawes Act may have been well intentioned, but much of the lands assigned was poor and difficult to farm. As a reult, the "surplus" land provision caused the Indians to lose approximately 90 million out of 140 acres of reservation land. | ||
This act was responsible for the creation of several types of records, however, including the [[ | This act was responsible for the creation of several types of records, however, including the [[American Indian Allotment Records|allotment records]], heirship files, the [[American Indian Register of Families|Register of Families]], and other supporting documents, many of which are very valuable in the tracing of American Indian ancestry. | ||
=== 1924 - Snyder Indian Citizenship Act === | === 1924 - Snyder Indian Citizenship Act === | ||
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Several Indian nations, most notably in Connecticut and New York, sue to gain autonomy (independence) on tribal reservation land. Indians win these cases paving the way for the creation of gambling operations on reservation land. Today there are casinos on several reservations providing millions of dollars of income for those tribes. | Several Indian nations, most notably in Connecticut and New York, sue to gain autonomy (independence) on tribal reservation land. Indians win these cases paving the way for the creation of gambling operations on reservation land. Today there are casinos on several reservations providing millions of dollars of income for those tribes. | ||
== Bibliography == | |||
*Cohen, Felix S. "Handbook of Federal Indian Law." Washington, DC:United States Government Printing Office, 1945. Second Printing. [http://thorpe.ou.edu/cohen.html Available online]. | *Cohen, Felix S. "Handbook of Federal Indian Law." Washington, DC:United States Government Printing Office, 1945. Second Printing. [http://thorpe.ou.edu/cohen.html Available online]. | ||