Claims Commission Act of 1926
Discussion | Summary
Certain events like the Claims Commission Act of 1926, HCR108 and PL280 in 1953, and the Termination of the Menominee Indians in 1954 reflect government efforts to avoid treaty obligations with Indian tribes. These actions, along with congressional and judicial decisions, eroded tribal sovereignty. While some individuals might have benefited, most American Indian people saw these events as detrimental to their status as sovereign nations. The late 1950s and early 1960s marked a period of declining support for Indian rights, which would not see improvement until the following decade.
Government Actions: Efforts to avoid treaty obligations and erode tribal sovereignty.
Specific Events: Claims Commission Act, HCR108, PL280, Termination of Menominee Indians.
Impact: Detrimental to most American Indian people.
Erosion of Sovereignty: Congressional and judicial decisions, and executive branch inaction.
Shift in Support: Decline in Indian rights during the late 1950s and early 1960s; improvement in the following decade.
Discussion | Full Text |
Fall 2016
It is clear that certain events - the Claims Commission Act of 1926, HCR108 and PL280 in 1953, and the Termination of the Menominee Indians in 1954 represent efforts by the government to get out of the business of meeting treaty obligations with Indian tribes, including providing for their wellbeing, protecting their access to reservation lands, and construing the language of the law in the best interest of Indian people. While some Indians, such as landowners, officials in some tribes, and some upper-class Indian citizens may have appreciated a cash-out, or the intrusion of law enforcement, or terminations that benefited their own tribes, most American Indian people understand that actions in Congress and by the Court, as well as inaction on the part of the executive branch, have seriously eroded their status as sovereign people. These events in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s are another period in which the law and public opinion shifted away from Indian rights – it would be another decade before these attitudes again shifted back in favor of Indians.