The Political Experience: A History of Struggle Since the 1880s

President Calvin Coolidge Standing Outside the White House in 1925 with Four Osage Indians to Commemorate the Signing of Indian Citizenship Act.  Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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Native Americans Protesting Against Violation of Various Rights Outside the Bureau of Indian Affairs Office in Seattle, Washington, 1971. Courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry.

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Most modern-day Indian tribes have had to struggle on many levels to maintain their distinct identities when interacting with the U.S. government.  This is particularly true in the realm of politics. Starting in the 1800s, the Indian Affairs agency in Washington, DC implemented legislation—such as the General Allotment Act of 1887 (better known as the Dawes Act)—that significantly diminished the Indian communities’ control over social governance and land.  By the 1930s, U.S. policies encouraged “semi-western” styles of administration designed to organize tribes under the direction of federal agents.  Some American governmental officials even questioned the Native Americans’ right to form as tribes.  Native American communities adapted in various ways to efforts by state and federal authorities to curtail their sovereignty.

These initiatives directly affected Native ways of life.  By the 1960s, many American Indians pushed to reestablish a more active role in their own affairs, including a campaign to reassert their autonomy over indigenous politics.  Self-governance is still an important issue in Native American communities today.