Research On The Evolution Of American Indian Policy Since The20^th Century

Indians are the first inhabitants of the American Continent. Before Columbus’ arriving, the Indians had been leading a peaceful life on their own way of culture. But since the European settlers had set foot on the continent, conflicts and contradictions between whites and Indians have never stopped. The Indians’ lives have been totally changed and they were forced to start a tough struggle for equality and freedom.In view of the fact that there has been no full summary about the American Indian policy of the20th century and few people have discussed the present Indian autonomy policy, the dissertation is to study the changes of the American Indian policy of the20th century using the research methods including documentary research, historical analysis, qualitative and quantitative analysis and comparative research. The dissertation divides the whole period into four phases and presents the details of different specific policies of each phase, analysing their background, content, implementation, impact and evaluation. It summarises all the policies over these100years systematically and makes a comparative analysis of the different policies enacted by the ten American presidents since the1960s. At last the study sums up the guiding idea and the basic principle for the U. S. government’s formulating the Indian policy.Apart from its introductive and conclusive part, the dissertation is composed of five chapters.Chapter one recalls the changes of the American Indian policy before the20th century. Starting from the origin, the culture, the social structure and the language of Indians, this chapter makes a diachronic analysis of the four important changes.Chapter two is about the period of Allotment and Assimilation in the first two decades of the20th century. Allotments were to distribute tribes’ land to tribe members separately, so as to lessen the collective spirit of traditional Indian culture, destroy the Indian tribes’ public ownership and satisfy the whites’ demand for more land. Assimilation policy promoted the assimilation of Indians by assimilation education and granted citizenship.Chapter three is about the period of Indian New Deal from1928to1945. After the failure of allotment, the U. S. government started New Deal to restore and protect Indian tribal system and to encourage Indian tribal autonomy. But the New Deal still followed the institution and system of American white society and tried to bring the Indian tribal government and tribal economy into the main political system. Without considering the real needs and wishes of Indians, the New Deal was doomed to end in failure.Chapter four is about Termination and Relocation policy from1945to the1960s. In this phase the American Indian policy returned to assimilation. Through the termination of federal government’s trusteeship, the federal government was free from Indian affairs. Relocating the Indians to urban living broke the traditional Indian tribal system, assimilated the Indians fundamentally and integrated them into the white mainstream thoroughly. But in fact these policies caused more social problems and produced more social burden and financial burden, so the federal government was forced to abandonTermination and Relocation at last.Chater five is about the Indian autonomy since the1960s. On March6,1968, President Lyndon Johnson proposed the Indian autonomy as a new target for the American Indian policy. Since then, the federal government has readjusted its Indian policy to autonomy. The federal government recognizes the sovereignty and autonomy of the Indian tribes, encourages the tribal governments to develop their government function, draft their own constitution and manage their own tribal affairs. At the same time, the federal government continues to assume its trusteeship, providing the Indians a variety of subsidies, benefits and services to help them attain self-sufficiency. What the federal government has done makes strong impacts on the development of Indian economy, education and national development.America is a multi-ethnic country and the relationship among its ethnics changes from the original confrontation to today’s multiculturalism. The ethno-theories of America include Anglo-conformity, Melting Pot, Multiculturalism and Emerging Culture. The U. S. government policies on American Indians change frequently, but the core and the guiding principles have never been changed, with the assimilation of various ethnic groups and the integration of the country as the ultimate goal.