A Study On The American Indian Reservation System

Being a special type of self-determination, American Indian reservation system has a more than one hundred developing history .Indian reservation system underwent six development stages till now: 1.the formation of the United States-1828:establishment of the federal role over the Indian affairs; 2.1828-1887:the creation and full operation of Indian reservation system; 3.1887-1934: the period of field allotment and coercive assimilation; 4.1934-1853: the implementation of the Indian Reorganization Act and the continuation of the reservation system; 5.1953-1968: the policy of "termination" and the crisis of Indian reservation system; 6.1968-now: encouragement to Indian tribes Self-determination and the development of the Indian reservation system.The Indian reservation system was not designed by the concrete policies of American federal government, but constructed by the explanations and judgments that the administrative legislation of Congress and courts at every level gave to the various laws and rules, so the research of the American Indian Law is the very way to understand the Indian Reservation system. By expedition of the following four parts---delimitation of the nouns "Indian Tribe" "Indian" "Indian Territory" in American Indian Law, the power division between American federal government and Indian tribes, the criminal jurisdiction and civil jurisdiction owned by American Indian reservations, the special role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Indian reservation system, it can be known that the limit autonomy the American government bestowed to Indians was contradictory to trusteeship responsibility the American owed to the Indians. And this contradiction decides that American Indian reservation system is not the very solution to the "Indian Problem" which has troubled American government for more than two hundred years, and it either can't guarantee exercising self-determination power effectively and extensively to the Indians.The developing history and the present conditions of the American Indian reservation system arise a problem with enlightenments and disputes, it's that in a country with lots of minorities, which kind of automatic policies can lead these minorities conserve their identities and contribute their identities to their homeland at the same time. Different answers and awarenesses to this question will bring different arrangements of policy and different systems, the American Indian reservation system supply us one possible answer to solve this kind of problem.