John Collier and the Indian New Deal A Critical Analysis, American


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John Collier and the Indian New Deal A Critical Analysis

John Collier and the Indian New Deal A Critical Analysis At the beginning of the 20th century, Native American culture was on the edge of extinction. Indians were at the bottom of the economic ladder. They had the lowest life expectancy rate, the highest infant mortality rate, the highest suicide rate and the highest rate of alcoholism than any other group in America. The Meriam Report of 1928, an 872-page study, laid the blame at the foot of the Federal Government. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office 1933, a series of major reforms were implemented that would later come to be known as the “Indian New Deal”. An important chapter in contemporary Native American history was about to begin. This essay will outline the major elements of the Indian New Deal and examine its achievements, failures and criticism. A critical analysis of the Indian New Deal would not be complete without a brief history of its progenitor, John Collier. His career started in 1907 as a social worker with the People’s Institute in New York City. During his time with the institute, Collier developed a social ideology based on the preservation of cultural traditions and communal life. In 1920, he found himself among the Pueblo tribe of New Mexico. Collier became enchanted with their sense of community, believing it to be an affirmation of his views on social policy. From this point on, he was at the forefront of the Indian reform movement. In 1923, Collier and other reformers founded the American Indian Defense Association, an organization committed to ending land allotment and preserving Native American culture. At the request of Secretary of Interior Harold L. Ickes, President Roosevelt selected Collier to oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Immediately upon taking office on April 21, 1933, he started working on a series of reforms to improve education and health services, end land allotment policies and formally recognize tribal sovereignty and culture. Taking his first step toward reform, Collier convinced President Roosevelt to abolish the Board of Indian Commissioners, an agency created during the Grant Administration to oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The board long dominated by supporters of land allotment and assimilation policies, was a major obstacle to reform. Elimination of the agency was a deft political maneuver that allowed Collier a freer hand in implementing Indian New Deal policies. Soon thereafter, Collier pushed through Congress the Pueblo Relief Act of 1933. The measure provided additional payments to Pueblos and settlers who were inadequately compensated by the Pueblo Land Act of 1924. This marked a successful conclusion to a battle Collier had fought in previous years and the first of many legislative triumphs. As outlined in the Meriam Report of 1928, reservations in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Montana and Washington were in dire need of conservation programs. Responding to these problems, Collier and Congress established the Indian Emergency Conservation Work (IECW) program, which provided $5.9 million dollars for the establishment of seventy-two work camps on over 30 reservations. The program employed Native Americans during the worst of the depression while at the same time allowing them to stay close to their families. With the support of the President firmly behind him, John Collier successfully channeled funds and aid from other agencies to benefit Native Americans. Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace allocated $800,000 dollars from the Agricultural Adjustment Administration to be used by Indians to purchase cattle. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was persuaded to provide aid to reservations left out of the original legislation. At Collier’s request, the Department of War donated surplus clothing to impoverished Native Americans. Additional economic relief was extended to Indians by the Public Works Administration (PWA), the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the National Youth Administration (NYA) and the Resettlement Administration. During the depression, Native Americans accumulated huge debts to the Federal Government due to road and bridge construction, irrigation projects and the expansion of tribal herds. John Collier convinced Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes, to use executive powers to eliminate these financial burdens. By far the most significant reforms of the Indian New Deal were contained in the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA). Passed by Congress in 1934, the IRA was extensive in its scope. Most importantly it reversed land allotment policies of the past and suggested that the U.S. government could buy back land to restore what the Indians had lost. Furthermore, it allowed Native American communities to form constitutional and corporate organizations. Once established, these entities could access a revolving credit program. For individual Indians a loan program was established that could be used for education. Finally, funds were appropriated for conservation programs, training and preservation of Indian culture. Oklahoma politicians lobbied fiercely against the IRA and were successful in excepting Oklahoma tribes. However, John Collier was determined to extend certain provisions of the IRA to Oklahoma Indians. After much political wrangling and compromise, the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act was passed by Congress in June 1936. This act provided for communal ownership of property, the right to form tribal constitutions and corporations and the ability to access a $2 million dollar credit fund. During his twelve-year career as commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, John Collier was able to affect tremendous improvements in the quality of life for many Indian communities. The Indian New Deal allowed Native Americans to survive the worst economic period in United States history and afforded many a higher standard of living than they had in the previous decade. Between 1933 and 1942, the Indian Emergency Conservation Work program employed 85,000 Native Americans and it brought about substantial conservation improvements on reservation lands. The IECW constructed 9,737 miles of truck trails, 12,230 miles of fences, 91 lookout towers and 1,742 dams and reservoirs. Over one million acres of Indian land benefited from pest control projects. In addition, 263,129 acres of grazing and farming lands were aided by programs to eradicate poisonous weeds. John Collier’s work with the Secretary of Agriculture led to a tremendous expansion in Indian-owned cattle herds. From 1933 to 1939, the number of Native Americans owning cattle increased 8,627 to 16,624 and the size of their herds more than doubled. Under New Deal policies, total income of Indian livestock increased from $2,087,000 to $5,859,000. An important aspect of Collier’s policies was that it emphasized livestock production. Unlike past policies that tried to turn Indians into farmers, an occupation they were far less suited too. As previously noted, Collier was very successful at working with other government entities in providing economic aid to Native Americans. The Department of War provided 35,000 trousers, 33,000 shirts, 40,000 coats, 176,00 pairs of socks and 24,000 pairs of shoes to destitute Native Americans. During the winter of 1934, the CWA employed 4,423 Indians to repair tribal buildings, dig water wells, manufacture clothing and perform clerical work. In addition, the CWA commissioned artists and craftspeople to decorate various government buildings. The PWA employed Native Americans to build day schools, hospitals, roads, irrigation systems and sewer systems on several reservations. The program promoted tribal culture by hiring Indian artists to paint murals on several Department of Interior buildings. Through the WPA, over 10,000 Native Americans were hired annually to perform office work for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Native American youths that participated in the NYA were entitled to six dollars per month to be used for clothing, supplies and lunches while attending day schools. At Collier’s insistence, the Resettlement Administration provided funding for digging wells on reservations in North and South Dakota and to purchase 993,673 acres for Pueblos and Navajos to use as grazing land. In February 1936, the Resettlement Administration spent over $1 million on self-help projects for Native Americans. Pursuing a policy advocated by the American Indian Defense Association, the FDR administration used executive powers to eliminate tribal debts. Over $3 million dollars of debt was voided in the first year alone. By 1936, the administration had eliminated over $12 million dollars of Indian debt. Indian New Deal programs to improve medical care for Native Americans also bore fruit. From the PWA, Collier secured $1.7 million dollars for the construction of eleven reservation hospitals and improvements to ten others. Furthermore, doctors, nurses and dentists were hired and treatment programs for tuberculosis and trachoma were developed. Consequently, trachoma breakouts dropped over 64% between 1939 and 1943. After 1930, the death rates of Native Americans were on a steady decline. The Indian New Deal reform that had the most profound and lasting impact on Native American society was the Indian Reorganization Act. The IRA brought about this impact primarily in two ways: (1) it formally ended the practice of land allotment and, (2) it provided a mechanism for tribal self-government. The original intent of the Dawes Severalty Act 1887 was to “transform Native Americans into practical, property owning farmers”. It called for subdividing tribal lands into small plots, which were assigned to individual Native Americans in return for U.S. citizenship. The Dawes Act proved to be devastating. Between 1881 and 1900 Indian land holdings declined close to 50 percent. By 1934, two-thirds of tribal land had transferred over to white owners. The IRA successfully ended the policy of land allotment and restored to Native Americans surplus lands created by the Dawes act. Under Collier’s tenure, the shrinkage of Indian real estate reversed and by 1941 it had increased by 4 million acres. Passage of the IRA marked a turning point in governmental policy. It was a formal recognition of the validity of tribal culture and sovereignty. According to Vine Deloria Jr. and Clifford M. Lytle, the IRA was: “important because it directed national policy from a deliberate effort to extinguish tribal governments and customs to a goal of establishing self-government and providing it with sufficient authority and powers to represent the reservation population in a variety of political and economic ventures.” Under IRA provisions, 93 tribes wrote constitutions and 73 tribes chose to incorporate. Ultimately, the IRA would “serve as a foot-in-the-door for later claims to Indian sovereignty and self-determination.” It would be from these humble beginnings that modern tribal governments would eventually evolve. In 1933 and 1934, the Indian New Deal had achieved some significant accomplishments. However, John Collier’s programs were not without its critics. In many ways, the Indian New Deal failed to live up to its lofty goals. Collier himself was often attacked by both Indians and non-Indians for his policies and political tactics. The conservation and relief programs advocated by Collier were not always successful. In Oklahoma, lands owned by Indians were widely dispersed thus making the Indian Civilian Conservation program ineffective. In Oregon, a poorly managed beetle control project on the Klamath reservation went awry resulting in several hundred dollars of damage. Navajo council member, Jacob Morgan, accused the government of wasting money on worthless equipment and unnecessary personnel. BIA employee William Endersbee reported that, aside from a few southwestern reservations, land conservation was sporadic due to improper funding. Although the Indian New Deal provided immediate relief to Native Americans, it failed to impart any lasting changes. According to Charles Young, supervisor of Indian Rehabilitation, the Resettlement Administration provided housing to over 900 families; however, 73 percent still needed new or improved housing. Other New Deal programs such as the WPA, CWA and NYA were able to provide short-term relief but they failed in stopping the cycle of poverty in tribal communities. Collier hoped to effect positive changes in the Native American education system. However, most of his reforms were often unsuccessful and unpopular. Collier pursued a policy started in the Hoover Administration of replacing boarding schools with day schools. This proved unpopular with Navahos who preferred boarding schools since they provided better nutrition for their children. In 1934, Collier put his support behind the Johnson-O’Malley Act, which he hoped, would improve educational services. However, the law depended on building a harmonious relationship between Federal and State administrators, which never materialized. Finally, the BIA budget declined from $11,224,000 in 1932 to $10,523,475 in 1940. These restraints prevented the bureau from providing education to thousands of Native American children. Although the Indian New Deal provided some improvements in health services for Indians, it fell far short of what was desperately needed. Despite Collier’s attempts to expand medical programs, he was never able to obtain the necessary appropriations from Congress to complete the task. He admitted as much in a 1935 congressional hearing when he declared that Indian health services remained “tragically inadequate” due to budget restrictions. In January 1934, Collier issued two executive orders concerning the advancement of Indian religions, which proved to be very controversial. According to Kenneth R. Phelps, “[t]hese orders struck at the heart of missionary work on the reservations and brought a storm of protest from both Indians and whites.” Close to a thousand Sioux parents sent a petition to Eleanor Roosevelt protesting Collier’s actions. In Oklahoma, twelve different denominations, representing Indian and non-Indians, staged protests accusing Collier of trying to suppress their missionary work. The bulk of the criticisms levied against the Indian New Deal were aimed at John Collier’s attempt to end land allotment and extend self-government to Native Americans. Despite his respect for Indian culture, Collier had an idealistic, monolithic view of Native American societies. He formulated policies based on experiences with Pueblo and Navajo tribes who had highly integrated communities. Therein, lay the inherent flaw of the Indian New Deal. In reality, most tribes had no “tradition of centralized control.” Consequently, when Collier rolled out his plan for Indian self-government, opposition would prove strong from Indians and non-Indians alike. Members of the Arapaho tribe rejected the concept of communal property and self-government, considering them foreign to their culture. Many in the Navajo tribe objected to provisions in the IRA that allowed the Department of Interior to dictate the number of livestock that could graze on Indian land. Cherokees in North Carolina had already incorporated under state laws and did not see any need to change. Joseph Bruner, a full-blood Creek Indian and president of the American Indian Federation was quite vocal in his criticisms. He argued that the IRA would retard assimilation, segregate Indians and promote racial hatred. Bruner went so far as accusing Collier of being a communist. Finally, many Indians were suspicious of these new programs and had no desire to give up their remaining allotments. Even internal members of the BIA would question Collier’s ideas. Chief BIA anthropologist, Scudder Mekeel, warned Collier that the IRA was conceptually flawed because it imposed “rigid white political and economic concepts in a situation which called for flexibility.” Mekeel’s analysis proved to be correct. Terms and concepts like constitution and corporate charters were confusing to most Native Americans. Many tribal superintendents also voiced concerns. For example, W. O. Roberts advised Collier that it was a mistake to treat the Sioux the same as southwestern Indians. Some scholars argue that the IRA only gave the appearance of giving Native Americans sovereignty. Tribal constitutions required the Secretary of Interior’s approval before enactment and often contained provisions within giving the BIA ultimate authority. According to Michael G. Lacy, “Indians do not see the tribe as organized under the IRA as their own democratic, legitimate government, but as an alien force.” Robert A Nelson and Joseph F. Sheley assert that the IRA actually gave the BIA more control of Native Americans rather than the reverse. Ultimately, only a minority of Indians participated in self-government. Only those tribes or bands recognized by the BIA were allowed to participate. Consequently, 50,000 Native Americans were excluded from the outset. Of the 181 tribes that voted to participate, only ninety-three adopted constitutions and only seventy-three incorporated. Furthermore, several of these tribes had been manipulated to participate by vote-counting tactics employed by the Interior Department. In the end, Collier’s failure to come to terms with Native American factionalism prevented him from creating an effective and sustainable Indian policy. Although John Collier failed to create his utopian vision of a cooperative commonwealth, he was able to revitalize Native American tribalism. He gave Indians hope for the future and a renewed dignity. The Indian New Deal, even with its flaws, allowed the preservation of tribal culture through the worst of the Great Depression and it successfully ended land allotment. From these humble beginnings, would arise a new generation of Native Americans who would embrace the concept of Pan-Indianism and continue the fight for cultural independence. Bibliography: FOOTNOTES James S. Olson and Raymond Wilson, Native Americans in the Twentieth Century (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1986) 107-108. Olson and Wilson 109. Kenneth R. Philp, John Collier’s Crusade for Indian Reform: 1920-1954 (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1977) 118. Philp 121. Olson and Wilson 110-111. Philp 127. Olson and Wilson 118. Olson and Wilson 121. Olson and Wilson 111. Donald Parman, “The Indian and the Civilian Conservation Corps,” Pacific Historical Review 40 (February 1971): 46-54. Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior: Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1935), p. 119, and Ibid., 1940, p. 375. Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior: Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1933), pp. 106-107. Philp 124-127. Philp 127. Olson and Wilson 112. William T. Hagan, American Indians (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993) 176. Olson and Wilson 68. Olson and Wilson 81. Vine Deloria, Jr. ed., American Indian Policy in the Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1985) 43. Philp 176. Vine Deloria, Jr. and Clifford M. Lytle, American Indians, American Justice (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983) 99. Emma R. Gross, Contemporary Federal Policy Towards American Indians (New York: Greenwood Press 1989) 20. Philp 126. Philp 127. Olson and Wilson 112-114. Philp 129. U.S. Congress, Committee on Indian Affairs, Hearings on H.R. 7781: Indian Conditions and Affairs, 74th Congress, 1st Session, 1935, p.744. Phelps 132. Phelps 128-129. Terry L. Anderson, Sovereign Nations or Reservations? An Economic History of American Indians (San Francisco: Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy 1995) 144. Phelps 172. Anderson 145. Phelps 164. Phelps 138. Vine Deloria, Jr. ed., American Indian Policy in the Twentieth Century (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1985) 93. Ibid. Olson and Wilson 122.

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