The Failure Of The Total Assimilation Of American Indians

The problem of American Indians is always an important issue in the America’s process of social development. Since the founding of the United States, the relationship between the government of United States and American Indians was very complicated. American government adopted different policies toward the American Indians in different phases and these policies had major significance on the development of the American society. This thesis selects American government’s total assimilation of the American Indians. Total assimilation is to help the American Indians incorporate into the mainstream American society as American citizens through education, land allotment and the grant of citizenship.The goal of American government’s total assimilation is make the American Indians incorporate into the American mainstream society by making them turn into self-sufficient farmers through land allotment, allowing them to receive good education and granting them the citizenship. However, after the total assimilation ended, American government failed to achieve its original goal. This thesis tries to discuss the failure of the American government’s total assimilation of American Indians through the analysis of the Indians’ conditions after total assimilation.There are four chapters apart from the introduction and conclusion. Chapter one mainly discusses the impoverished American Indians after the total assimilation through the analysis of the purpose of the total assimilation, the impoverishment of the American Indians and the causes of the poverty. Chapter two mainly discusses the limited citizenship owned by the American Indians after the total assimilation through the analysis the grant of citizenship in the Dawes Act, the citizenship of the American Indians limited by the guardianship and their non-participation in politics. Chapter three mainly discusses the undereducated American Indians after the total assimilation through the analysis of the Indian education in the assimilation campaign, the implementation of English-only education and the failure of the Indian education. Chapter four mainly discusses the complete change of the lifestyles of the American Indians after the total assimilation through the analysis the renaming of the Indian names and the disappearance of the tribal organizations.