Book details how federal government used bribery to end relationships with Native American tribes

book details how federal government used bribery to end relationships with native american tribes

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Federal policy toward Native American tribal nations in the first half of the 20th century sought to end the government's legal and political relationship with tribes. A new book by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor David Beck looks at one aspect of termination policy: bribery.

The book, titled "Bribed With Our Own Money: Federal Abuse of American Indian Funds in the Termination Era," examines how officials coerced tribal nations to accept termination by threatening to withhold money owed them by the federal government. Beck found that such coercion was a government policy, with both Congress and the interior department advocating using the money owed to tribes to force the end of the government's relationship with them.

For example, in 1954, Congress appropriated money owed to the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, which it won in a lawsuit over timber mismanagement after the federal government clear-cut tribal forests. Congress forced the tribe to accept termination of its federal trust relationship with the government as a condition of being paid the money it won in the lawsuit.

"Termination was foisted onto the tribes as a quid pro quo for the payments that were due to them," Beck wrote of such tactics.

Federal Indian policy established a trust or fiduciary relationship with tribes under which the government is to provide protection and ensure the survival of the tribal nations. Among the government's responsibilities are overseeing the governance of reservation lands and managing resources such as forests, minerals and game.

"It's a legal as well as a moral responsibility. Almost from the very beginning, the federal government has been trying to get out from under that responsibility," Beck said.

Beginning in the 1920s, tribes and the government sought to create greater self-governance within tribal communities. From the government's perspective, this meant ending its trust relationship with tribes, Beck said. In 1953, the Termination Act gave Congress permission to pass laws terminating its trust relationship with specific tribal nations, which it immediately began doing, he said. Termination ends the political and legal relationship between the tribes and the government and disestablishes reservations.

Federal officials presented termination as advancing the "freedom" and "emancipation" of tribes.

"They tried to couch it in language that was euphemistic, with terms that were supposed to provide tribes with the idea that they had this great opportunity to move into the modern world, in a way that was defined by federal officials and not by tribal leaders," Beck said.

In his book, Beck looks at the time period leading up to the Termination Act. He uses six case studies to illustrate how the government used tribal monies to try to force termination, with varying success.

In a section of the book on "Forests and Termination," Beck wrote about the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the Klamath of Oregon, both tribes with vast forest resources. The Klamath were promised payments to individuals for their forest land. Federal officials considered the two tribal nations model cases for termination, and in 1954 laws were passed to end their relationship with the U.S., Beck wrote.

In "Dams and Termination," Beck wrote about the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold in North Dakota and the Seneca Nation of Indians of New York, both of which were owed large payouts for loss of reservation land to flooding due to newly built dams. Both avoided termination after a long fight that impacted their abilities to revitalize their communities and recover from their losses, Beck wrote.

A final section of the book, "Lands and Termination," describes the situations of the Colville Confederated Tribes of Washington and the Mixed-Blood Utes of Utah. Both tribes won lawsuits for compensation for lands taken from them. The Utes' lawsuit led to a split in the tribe based on amount of Native American blood of individual members. Those of full blood avoided termination by letting the government end its relationship with those of mixed blood. The Colville tribes were split on the question of termination because a portion wanted their land returned to them, but ultimately they avoided termination.

The terminations of the Menominee, Klamath and Mixed-Blood Utes "caused lasting trauma to individual Indians and created dysfunction in tribal governance, economics and social structures," Beck wrote.

"One way to view the termination policy is as one more brutal attack in a centuries-long assault on Indigenous rights to their lands, their resources, their cultural heritage and their self-determination. Another way is to view it within the context of the U.S. legal system that established a federal fiduciary responsibility to America's Indigenous nations. The termination efforts that intensified in the 1940s are reflective of a century and a half of actions contradictory to the protections the law theoretically instituted for U.S. dealings with Indian nations," he wrote.

Eventually, those fighting termination were able to convince legislators that termination would be more costly to the government than keeping the trust relationship intact. The Civil Rights movement also increased awareness of how minority populations in the U.S. had been mistreated, but not before more than 100 tribes were terminated, Beck said.

The Menominee tribe later brought another lawsuit over hunting and fishing rights, and was able to reverse its termination and regain federal recognition, he said.

The book's conclusion focuses on "the lasting specter of termination." While Congress has never repudiated termination, tribes now have much more authority and a stronger relationship with the federal government, thanks to new laws that empowered tribal governments, Beck said.

Provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This story was originally published on Phys.org. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest sci-tech news updates.

OTHER NEWS

11 minutes ago

Mona hangs Picassos in women’s toilet in response to court ruling

15 minutes ago

Seine suspense as Paris counts down to Olympics

17 minutes ago

Star Trek's Grossest Food Detail Might Make You Sick

18 minutes ago

Earl Spencer discovers Roman bracelet in grounds of Althorp Estate during excavation - days after he's spotted on date with archeologist

18 minutes ago

My husband died in my arms as we waited too long for an ambulance

18 minutes ago

Financial sextortion most often targets teen boys via Instagram, according to new data

18 minutes ago

Woman admits splashing hot water on her 4 kids on suspicion that one of them stole her cash

18 minutes ago

Xhaka hails revamped Swiss after reaching knockout stages again

18 minutes ago

Ties between Singapore, Italy deepening: President Tharman

18 minutes ago

Hilton Dubai Palm has a 29-hour staycation offer

18 minutes ago

Celine Dion wailed through seizure in 'unbearable' moment filming documentary

18 minutes ago

Peter Schiff is predicting a 'major dollar decline’ but Janet Yellen has said it won't be easy to 'get around' the greenback — here are 3 ways to prepare your portfolio

18 minutes ago

Euro Paper Talk: Ten Hag to reboot Man Utd forward line with stunning triple transfer; Liverpool green light move for Euro 2024 midfielder

18 minutes ago

Newsmaker | Who is Mahant Raju Das, the Ayodhya priest who argued with District Magistrate over BJP’s poll defeat?

18 minutes ago

Video: Kylie Jenner commands attention in a busty pale pink corset dress but fans joke it 'looks like she's wearing a mosquito net' with bizarre headpiece at Schiaparelli's Paris Fashion Week show

18 minutes ago

T20 World Cup: 'Once Virat Kohli gets that little taste of blood...' - Robin Uthappa hopes to see a big Kohli knock against Australia

18 minutes ago

Stuart Broad named ambassador of hospital charity

18 minutes ago

Hamilton Tiger-Cats start the season 0-3 for third-straight year

18 minutes ago

Target Aims to Expand Its Online Marketplace With Shopify Partnership

18 minutes ago

China and EU set to discuss tariff hike on electric vehicles amid trade tensions

18 minutes ago

Several members of Vikings' 2022 draft class fighting for roster spot

18 minutes ago

Man shot, wounded in Little Village near scene of triple shooting

18 minutes ago

Bill Simmons' Horrible Take On Celtics Drafting Jaylen Brown Resurfaces

22 minutes ago

Trump spiritual advisor says he asked her what God thought about presidential run

22 minutes ago

Three HUGE changes to the Orlando Pirates coaching staff

28 minutes ago

Biden-Trump debate's a rematch, but will muted mics and other new rules make a difference?

32 minutes ago

Tabraiz Shamsi hits out at ‘ridiculous’ Proteas T20 World Cup critics

32 minutes ago

Nigel Farage doubles down on claim that West 'provoked' Putin

32 minutes ago

25/1 cross-match RequestABet on offer for tonight's Euro 2024 fixtures - as Spain take on Albania and Croatia battle Italy in Group B

34 minutes ago

Up 275% in 10 years — is this one of the best tech investments on the stock market?

34 minutes ago

60 Polished Outfits Under $35 On Amazon That Are Super Comfy

34 minutes ago

NASCAR Cup Series playoffs bubble watch: Where the field sits after Loudon

34 minutes ago

Texas man who spent 20 years on death row is exonerated

34 minutes ago

Gareth Southgate decides to drop England star for final Euro 2024 group game

35 minutes ago

Contents of south Dublin convent go under the hammer for €100,000

35 minutes ago

Titans remain unsettled on right side of offensive line

35 minutes ago

How a Cyberattack Took 15,000 Car Dealers Offline

35 minutes ago

Iran and Bahrain agree to start ties resumption talks

35 minutes ago

Bills Tight End 'A Feared Mismatch' Headed Into Year 2

35 minutes ago

Major street closures for NASCAR Chicago street race go into effect this week