The Erosion of Indian Rights

Abstract

OUR 450,000 American citizens who are members of Indian tribes are probably the only racial group in the United States whose rights are more limited in 1953 than they were in 1950. The erosion of Indian rights in this period and the factors which contributed to that erosion can be fairly evaluated only if we also view the background of Indian progress during the 21-year period from 1929 to 1950. During that period more than a score of discriminatory restrictions upon Indians were abolished; the size of Indian landholdings increased, instead of decreasing, for the first time in American history; the real income of most Indian families doubled or tripled; and the Indian death rate was cut in half. During that period the Bureau of Indian Affairs was a leading participant in almost every battle for Indian rights.