IRA Project

The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) is a piece of legislation that was passed in 1934. It is often referred to as the "Indian New Deal" -- providing Indigenous nations in the United States a chance to move forward from the policies under allotment and better their lives, ushering in an age of democracy and freedom in Indian Country. However, there is also a strong sentiment that the IRA was a policy change in name alone. Thomas Biolsi argues that, "In terms of the recognition of the rights of Indian people to decide local issues, and in terms of who controlled Indian affairs, the more things "changed" under the New Deal, the more they remained the same" [[(Biolsi, 1991)->bibliography]]. Modern Indigenous scholars and Indigenous community members in 1934 alike both cast doubt on the idea that the IRA was truly a groundbreaking and innovative change in Indian policy. What exactly was the IRA, and what did it mean to the Indigenous nations across the United States who had to vote whether or not to accept it? Once you have explored enough, follow the "I've learned enough" link to see how your opinion on the IRA compares to how communities chose to accept or reject it. [[I want to see what the government had to say]] [[I want to see what Indigenous people had to say]] [[I want to see what people are saying now]] [[I've learned enough]]

The IRA was written under the leadership of John Collier, the commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The goal of the IRA was to reverse the policies of allotment and protect Indigenous culture and lifestyle. It would allow Indigenous nations within the U.S. to establish their own self-government and constitutions modelled after that of the United States. The IRA would only apply to nations who accepted it by majority rule. [[I want to see what the law itself says]] [[I want to see what the people who wrote it had to say]]

A total of 174 tribes accepted the IRA. Out of those 174, 135 of them drafted tribal constitutions. To those who accepted the IRA, there were some positive changes, like recieving back some of the lands that were lost during allotment and the development of tribal governments that were acknowledged federally. [[bibliography]]

78 tribes rejected the IRA. Among them were the Navajo, who refused to support Collier after his role in the livestock reductions that devastated the nation economically. [[bibliography]]

Now that you have an idea on what exactly the IRA is, and how Indigenous people, both modern and at the time, view it, it is time for you to cast your vote. Do you support the IRA? [[Yes]] [[No]] [[Abstain]]

Nations from across the United States, with the exception of Oklahoma and Alaska, were asked to either accept the IRA or reject it. Collier himself travelled across the country in order to explain the IRA and convince nations to adopt it. A significant portion of the sources from Indigenous perspectives about the IRA come from conferences, tribal councils and congresses in which Indigenous peoples gathered to decided whether or not they would accept the IRA. [[I want to hear from the Southwest]] [[I want to hear from the Plains]] [[I want to hear from the Pacific Northwest]] [[I want to hear from the South]]

The effects of the IRA are still being discussed in the modern world of Indigenous Studies. We already heard some from Thomas Biolsi, an influential scholar on the topic, but he is not the only one talking about what the actual role the IRA played in Indigenous history and policy. [[I want to hear more from Thomas Biolsi]] [[I want to hear from what we teach in school]]

[[Introduction]] [[(U.S. Congress, 1934)->bibliography]] [(open-url: 'https://govtrackus.s3.amazonaws.com/legislink/pdf/stat/48/STATUTE-48-Pg984.pdf')]

(b4r:"double")+(b4r-colour:white)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"=XXXXX=")[//"The repair work authorized by Congress under the terms of the act aims at both the economic and spiritual rehabilitation of the Indian race."// [[(Calloway, 2019)->bibliography]]]] To John Collier, the IRA represented a great gift to the Indigenous nations of the United States. Under the IRA, they would no longer have to fear land loss because of allotment and be helped by the government to help strengthen their communities. To Collier, the rejectors of the IRA did so because of misinformation. To Collier and the BIA, the IRA was a tremendous success, helping Indigenous peoples across the country, and the only trouble came from its dissenters. [[Introduction]]

(b4r:"double")+(b4r-colour:white)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"=XXXXX=")[//"Indirect rule and the Indian New Deal for Collier meant the BIA showing the Indians the light and eventually, theoretically, at some unspecified and mysteriously-receding point in the future, turning administration over to Indians. In the meantime, professionals knew what was best."// [[(Biolsi, 1991)->bibliography]]]] Thomas Biolsi argues that the IRA was just a more socially acceptable repackaging of the same ideas that guided Indian policy before it. He argues that while it seems like a good, sweeping piece of reform, it is little different than "Kill the Indian, Save the Man". The IRA imagines Collier and the BIA as guiding figures showing Indigenous peoples the right way of life, with the vague idea that maybe one day they will be Western enough to do so on their own. To modern Indigenous scholars like Biolsi, the IRA does not represent an "Indian New Deal", but rather a continuation of the same mentality of white man's superiority and much needed guidance over Native Peoples. [[Introduction]]

(b4r:"double")+(b4r-colour:white)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"=XXXXX=")[//"Federal authorities once again recognized Indians’ right to govern their own affairs... The New Deal marked the most radical shift in Indian policy in the nation’s history."// [[(Foner, 2014)->bibliography]]]] This passage comes from the AP U.S. History textbook I used back in highschool. The full passage does a decent job at expressing the fact that in many ways the IRA did fail Indigenous nations, but nevertheless is sure to paint it as a piece of radical, sweeping reform, even though it is mentioned for all of two paragraphs. The IRA is taught as a small aside to the broader programs being implemented as part of the New Deal, as a noteworthy shift in Indian policy moving toward recognition of Indigenous rights and self-control. [[Introduction]]

(b4r:"double")+(b4r-colour:white)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"=XXXXX=")[//"We think it not fair to do our part and the government does not meet us half-way."// [[(Cobb, 2015)->bibliography]]]] The Navajo, or Diné Nation, came into the IRA with previous experience with Commissioner John Collier. Collier had been responsible for a devastating program of livestock reduction which severely damaged both the Diné and the Hopi economically. To the nations of the Southwest still struggling with the fallout of livestock reduction, the IRA was just another deal to which the government would not uphold their end of the bargain, resulting in more harm done to their people. [[Introduction]]

(b4r:"double")+(b4r-colour:white)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"=XXXXX=")[//"I believe that something is not very clear in our minds and that is this, that the passage of the new Bill would in turn jeopardize our interests in some of the allotment and treaties that are known by the year '68, '78 and '89."// [[(Cobb, 2015)->bibliography]]]] George White Bull, a Lakota from Standing Rock, expressed the fact that while his people were interested in the IRA and what it could bring to them, they also were concerned about what would happen to previous treaties and agreements made under the allotment system and before. He also expresses the anxieties of his people who have made themselves comfortable lives under allotment. Would all that they worked for go away under the new law? To many Indigenous people like White Bull, the IRA represented a potential step forward, but it also came with the uncertainty of making such a drastic change to how things were being handled. [[Introduction]]

(b4r:"double")+(b4r-colour:white)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"=XXXXX=")[//"That word 'education' in exchange for the bow and arrow. That you can be thankful for."// [[(Cobb, 2015)->bibliography]]]] Christine Galler was an Okanogan woman who spoke in favor of the IRA. She argues that under allotment, Indigenous peoples were suffering and afraid to take control of their own destinies. She poses the IRA as a way forward, where her people can choose to educate themselves and leave their old ways behind in exhange for self-government. To some Indigenous people, the IRA was the best way forward. It represented the end of allotment and the beginning of an era of self-determination. [[Introduction]]

[[I'm abstaining because I am unsure]] [[I'm abstaining because it counts as a "no" vote in my culture]]

Like most events in Indigenous history, the IRA is a complicated topic. It's supporters place it in the history books as a great turning point for Indigenous peoples in the United States, and its dissenters say that it was just a continuation of previous controlling, exploitative Federal policy. This interactive only scratches the surface of what the IRA is an how it effected Indigenous communities across the United States and continues to affect them. For continued reading, I would recommend checking out my [[bibliography]] and the other projects on our class website.

One of the ways that the IRA failed communities from the start was its enforcement of Western-style democracies on communities that were not used to it. In many nations, not voting was considered a negative vote, but when choosing whether or not to accept the IRA, officials exploited these abstentions and counted them as "yes" votes instead. 174 tribes chose to accept the IRA, whether through legitimate means or through government intervention. [[bibliography]]

Biolsi, Thomas. “‘Indian Self-Government’ as a Technique of Domination.” American Indian Quarterly 15, no. 1 (1991): 23–28. https://doi.org/10.2307/1185207. Calloway, Collin G. First Peoples: A Documentary Study of American Indian History. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, Macmillan Learning, 2019. Cobb, Daniel M., ed. 2015. "Fooled So Many Times" (1934). In //Say We Are Nations: Documents of Politics and Protest in Indigenous America Since 1887//. University of North Carolina Press, 64-67. Cobb, Daniel M., ed. 2015. "Let Us Try A New Deal" (1934). In //Say We Are Nations: Documents of Politics and Protest in Indigenous America Since 1887//. University of North Carolina Press, 68-69. Cobb, Daniel M., ed. 2015. "If We Have The Land, We Have Everything" (1934). In //Say We Are Nations: Documents of Politics and Protest in Indigenous America Since 1887//. University of North Carolina Press, 70-74. Cobb, Daniel M., ed. 2015. "We Have Heard Your Talk" (1934). In //Say We Are Nations: Documents of Politics and Protest in Indigenous America Since 1887//. University of North Carolina Press, 75-77. Foner, Eric. //Give Me Liberty! : an American History//. Seagull fourth edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2014. U.S. Congress. //An Act To Conserve and Develop Indian Lands and Resources; to Extend to Indians the Right to Form Business and Other Organizations; to Establish a Credit System for Indians; to Grant Certain Rights of Home Rule to Indians; to Provide for Vocational Education for Indians; and for Other Purposes.// P.L. 73-383, Chapter 576, 48 Stat. 984.

(b4r:"double")+(b4r-colour:white)[(align:"<==>")+(box:"=XXXXX=")[//"The once powerful Choctaws took Mr. Collier at his word, met, elected Chief, Sec., and Council. Adopted constitution and by-laws, and submitted them to you and asked for recognition; to be told by you that you would not recognize our Federation."// [[(Cobb, 2015)->bibliography]]]] Joe Chitto of the Chocktaw Nation was among the supporters of the IRA. His nation chose to accept it and create a government in the image of that of the United States, but were denied recognition by Collier. The Choctaws were not alone in this, as other southern nations such as the North Carolina Lumbees were denied Federal recognition as part of the IRA. This is not to mention the nations in Alaska and Oklahoma who were not even given the chance to accept. For some Indigenous Nations, while the IRA promised a better life, it failed to deliver. Even though they were willing to accept its terms, they were denied that chance due to being deemed "not Indian" enough by the government. [[Introduction]]