Native to the Land, yet Excluded from the Nation

PARALLEL STORY

Although Native Americans were the first people to live on this land, the U.S. government did not offer citizenship upon the country’s founding.

The Dawes Act of 1887 first offered citizenship to Native Americans but only to push them to assimilate. The Act broke up most tribal land into modest parcels to be distributed to Native families while the remaining parcels were auctioned off to white purchasers. Only those Native Americans who accepted the farmland and became “civilized” were made citizens. Much tribal land was lost, and cultural traditions destroyed.

The federal Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. The right to vote, however, was governed by the states. Many enacted English literacy tests and poll taxes and did not allow for polling places on tribal lands. In New Mexico and Arizona, Native Americans sued, winning the right to vote there in 1948. It took almost 20 more years and additional legislation to remove obstacles in all states so that Native Americans could fully exercise their rights as U.S. citizens.

Members of the Committee of One Hundred met with President Calvin Coolidge in December 1923, a year before the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. The Committee of One Hundred consisted of scholars, activists, and policy specialists who advised the federal government on critical issues facing the Native American population. Library of Congress, 93506281.