Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

The relationship between Indigenous Peoples of North America and the United States government has always challenging difficult to define. By signing treaties, different Indigenous nations had different relationships with the government. In 1924, the United States changed this dynamic by creating the Indian Citizenship Act. How did Indigenous Peoples respond to this? What rights did they gain? Or lose? Let's unpack these questions and more!

Calvin Coolidge: Indian Citizenship Act of 1924

On April 6, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act. This act granted citizenship to all Indigenous peoples of North America. Like most white politicians of the twentieth century, Coolidge believed that forced assimilation was the best course of action for indigenous people.

Coolidge met with the Committee of One Hundred, a government group with indigenous and non-indigenous people in it, in 1923. The indigenous people at this meeting wanted to move forward, claiming that the old ways were dead and gone.

While the indigenous people may have wanted citizenship, they could not speak for every Native American Nation. Each indigenous person and community is different, so their wants and desires for their culture would vary. Why were they upset? To fully understand this, we need to dig into the history of indigenous citizenship in America.

Fig. 1 - Calvin Coolidge would pose with Indigenous people outside the White House if they met with him. He wanted the American people to understand his commitment to indigenous people and their assimilation.

Indigenous Peoples of North America Relationship to US Citizenship

When Europeans began traveling to and living in the Americas, they made deals with the indigenous people of America for land. These deals were called treaties. After America was established as a sovereign state, it continued to negotiate treaties with indigenous people. These treaties defined the relationship between America and the indigenous people.

America had gained independence from Great Britain, but other countries didn't recognize this. By creating treaties with other sovereign states, America could show that it was no longer a colony. America began signing treaties with Indigenous peoples for land. By signing treaties, America and Indigenous nations recognized each other as sovereign states.

Indigenous Citizenship was a question for the United States government for a long time.¹ People who were Half Indigenous, or less, were allowed United States citizenship. Women who married white men were also given citizenship. Indigenous veterans were offered citizenship after World War I.

Fig. 2 - The amount of assimilation that Indigenous people chose to partake in was an individual's choice. The American government continued to become involved in the state of Indigenous people and their cultures.

Indigenous peoples were citizens of their Indigenous nations, not America. Nations had their own forms of government. That might look like a chief, a council of elders, or people nominated to represent them. They had their own laws and were punished by their nation if they were broken.

Dawes Act

It is impossible to tell the story of Indigenous citizenship in America without discussing the Dawes Act. In 1887, the Dawes Act allowed the government to ignore treaties and break up Indigenous peoples' land. Around 160 acres of land were granted to the "heads" of families, and they had to enroll with the Office of Indian Affairs.

The excess land was sold to non-indigenous people by the US government. The Indigenous people received the worst of the land, which was often unsuitable for farming. The non-Indigenous who bought the land did so at a discounted value. Thus, the Indigenous people were underpaid.

Indigenous people who went through this received US citizenship. The goal of the Dawes Act, and most policies toward Indigenous peoples, was forced assimilation. The idea was that the only way to make the Indigenous peoples more "America" was to separate them from their culture and identities.

Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 Definition

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 gave United States citizenship to all Indigenous people. There were believed to be 300,000 Indigenous peoples in America, and a little over a third of them weren't citizens. Let's take a closer look at the impact of the Indian Citizenship Act on Indigenous peoples.

Positive and Negative Implications of the Indian Citizenship Act 1924

Indigenous peoples of North America were citizens. However, some White people were upset that Indigenous peoples were receiving the same rights as them and so often denied them their rights. The same tactics used against African Americans were used on Indigenous peoples to prevent them from voting.

Utah was the last state to allow Indigenous peoples to vote in 1957. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 protected the rights of voters. It was strengthened with several other Voting Rights Acts, which together worked to allow all US citizens to vote regardless of their race.

Activists worked for Indigenous peoples to gain citizenship. They believed that Indigenous peoples were the first people of America, so the fact that they had no political power in America was an issue. They wanted Indigenous peoples to gain political power and have a say in what happened to them in America.

Fig. 3 - While indigenous people became citizens in 1924, they didn't were unable to vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 Significance

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 is significant because it defined Indigenous peoples' relationship with the United States of America. Indigenous peoples were citizens of the country and entitled to the same protections provided by the Constitution as anyone else. Though they were entitled to these rights, they were denied them. Indigenous peoples, like African Americans, were prevented from voting. Indigenous people can vote today.

While some Indigenous peoples wanted to become citizens, others didn't. Some Indigenous nations today still do not claim citizenship in the United States of America. Through treaties signed with the United States government, they consider themselves to be semi-sovereign and that the United States government should uphold their end of the agreement, which is to acknowledge this.