Celebrating 100 Years of Service
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2022 is the 100th anniversary of the
Association‘s advocacy in Indian Country! 100 years ago, the United States asserted policies of violence, genocide and assimilation to end the “Indian problem.” The problem, truly, was that Native Americans continued to posses their sovereignty, lands and resources reserved and protected by treaties and other federal laws. Secondarily, their diverse cultural and religious practices were “contrary” to Christianity. The movement to “kill the Indian and save the man” sought to rid Native peoples of their identity, imposed boarding schools and adoption of Native children into white homes, outlawed cultural practices, religions and languages and eradicated traditional foods and medicine sources.
The Association’s efforts over the last 100 years have always begun on the ground, hand-in-hand with Native Nations. Stories of the Association’s advocacy and Indian Country victories – as well as stories of loss – provide education and hope for our next 100 years of continued grassroots campaigns. Many Native leaders say that without the efforts of the Association, Native Nations would not possess the self-determination, sovereignty and strength they do today. But there is still more work that needs to be done. To honor a century of protecting Native Cultural Sovereignty, learn more about the Association’s work over the last 100 years and join with us as we create a world where diverse Native American cultures and values are lived, protected and respected. |
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1920s - Stopping Assimilation
At a time when federal Indian policy was genocide through the theft of Tribal lands, the outlaw of Native religious and cultural practices, boarding schools and other assimilation policies, the founders of the Association stood up to protect sovereignty, preserve culture, educate youth and build capacity.
At a time when federal Indian policy was genocide through the theft of Tribal lands, the outlaw of Native religious and cultural practices, boarding schools and other assimilation policies, the founders of the Association stood up to protect sovereignty, preserve culture, educate youth and build capacity.
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1928: The Association gathered facts and data to show Bureau of Indian Affairs abuses in the Meriam Report. Native Nations were reluctant to work with federal agents but willingly partnered with the Association to give accurate insight into the human rights struggles they were enduring at the hands of the federal government. Learn more about the Meriam Report. |
1930s - The Beginnings of Rectification
After the Merriam Report in 1928, the egregious failures of assimilation policies were finally on paper and it was time for the federal government to take corrective action. That corrective action included ending allotment and restructuring Tribal governance and education. The founders of the Association worked to improve government facilities, educational opportunities and worked with Native Nations to develop written constitutions to form westernized governance systems. Though these governance systems have been problematic, the work gave Native Nations tools to protect their sovereignty and land base.
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1934-1936: The Association was working to end boarding schools in the 1930s! With John Collier in the Office of Indian Affairs, the Association developed a memorandum to advance Tribal education promoting bilingualism, crafts, art, literature, music, Tribal governance, tradition, agriculture, sheep husbandry, resource development and subsistence. The memo discussed initiatory procedures to abolish boarding school facilities and the development of day schools.
Learn more about the damage of boarding schools on Native children. |
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1935: The Association was instrumental in the passage of the original Indian Arts & Crafts Act of 1935. The Association worked with Tribes to understand the issues and to make sure the act's language favorably benefitted Tribal Nations and Native Peoples. With the passing of this bill and the establishment of the Arts and Crafts Board, Tribes have, ever since, been better able to preserve the integrity of their creations for the public. Learn more about the importance of the Indian Arts & Crafts Act. |
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1938 photo of Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe leaders from the Reno Evening Gazette protesting the bill to give non-Indian squatters title to Tribal land.
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1938: The Association worked hand-in-hand with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to stop a bill that would give non-Indian squatters rights to 2,000 acres of protected lands and water. A bill was introduced to legitimize these squatters' claims. The Association kept pressure on to stop the bill, though in the next decade, the same political leaders in Congress kept trying to stead Pyramid Lake Paiute lands and water. Learn more about the Association's work with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. |
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