Indian Reorganisation Act
Topic: Settler Colonialism: Native Peoples of America and Australia · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Displacing Indigenous Peoples"
Meaning
The Indian Reorganisation Act was a US law passed in 1934. It gave native peoples living on reservations the right to buy land and take loans. It came after a 1928 survey, The Problem of Indian Administration, showed how poor health and education were on the reservations. It was the USA's main legal step towards fairer treatment of natives.
Example
The 1928 survey was directed by Lewis Meriam, and its grim picture of reservation life led to the Act of 1934. In 1954 natives went further with the "Declaration of Indian Rights". In it they accepted US citizenship on the condition that their reservations would not be taken and their traditions would not be interfered with.
Don't confuse with
- Constitution Act 1982: this was a Canadian law, not an American one. It accepted the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of Canada's native peoples.
Related concepts
- Constitution Act 1982
- Great Australian Silence
- Multiculturalism in Australia
- Mabo case
- Stolen Generations
- National Sorry Day