Social Welfare Policy and Services: Native Americans

To find other materials on policies and services for Native Americans, check The Library Catalog with the SUBJECT Keywords:

indians of north america government policy

indians of north america services for

Many of the titles listed in the Catalog are government documents and will be available electronically.

19th into the 20th Century

Young Joseph. An Indian's View of Indian Affairs," North American Review 128, April 1879, 412-433.
Young Joseph was a chief of the Nez Percé.

Jackson, Helen Hunt. A Century of Dishonor: The Early Crusade for Indian Reform. Andrew F. Rolle (ed.), New York, Harper & Row, 1965.
Hunt's 1881 publication about the unjust treatment that Indians were receiving at the hands of the federal government triggered pressure for reform of Indian policies which resulted in the 1887 Dawes Act.
Dana Call Number: E93 .J13 1965

Dawes Severalty Act (1887)
Under the Dawes Act Indian tribes lost their legal standing and all tribal lands were converted to individual ownership. Note: Select "document transcript" to see the actual text of the Act.

Oskison, John M. " Remaining Causes of Indian Discontent," North American Review 184, March 1, 1907, 486-493.

Wilkins, David E. " Transformations in Supreme Court Thought: The Irresistible Force (Federal Indian Law & Policy) Meets the Movable Object (American Indian Tribe Status)," Social Science Journal 30(2), April 1, 1993, 181-207.
Analyzes "107 federal court cases involving American Indian tribal sovereignty and federal pleary [sic] power rendered between 1870 and 1921... [with a] focus on the Court's role in formulating public policy towards American Indian tribes in four major issue areas: congressional power, criminal law, allotment and membership, and natural resources." Restricted Access.

Critchlow, Donald T. " Lewis Meriam, Expertise, and Indian Reform," Historian 43(3), May 1981, 325-344.
After years of criticism of the U.S. Indian Service, in the Spring of 1926 Lewis Meriam of the Institute for Government Research was asked to investigate the prevailing social conditions among American Indians. His subsequent report, The Problem of Indian Administration (1928) is considered a major turning point in federal Indian policy. Restricted Access.

A New Deal for the American Indian. Literary Digiest April 7, 1938.

Indian Reorganization Act [Wheeler-Howard Act]. June 18, 1934.
Part of the "Indian New Deal," the Indian Reorganization Act reversed the Dawes Act of 1887 by returning lands to tribal control.

Current Policies and Issues

American Indian Tribal Portal: Indian Policies

Links to Executive Orders, EPA policies, and presidential documents. From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Sovereignty and the Future of Indian Nations

Jefferson Keel. 8th Annual State of Indian Nations Address. January 29, 2010.

National Congress of American Indians: Policy Issues

Includes issues relating to tribal governance, community development, health & human services, land & natural resources, as well as other issues.

Violence Against Native Women: Legislative Action

Family Violence and American Indians: A Report to the Indian Health Service Office of Women's Health.

Laura A. Williams. Bethesda, Md., U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2002.

Dana Call Number: Microfiche HE20.302:F21