Post by Spirit of the Owl Woman on Mar 4, 2008 17:22:31 GMT -5
The four years of President Herbert Hoover’s administration (1929-33) were grim for American Indians in spite of the fact that the Department of the Interior had some reform-minded officials who were being pressured by an increasing number of Americans call for change. The Meriam Report was a model for reform. The main obstacle to meaningful change was the continued assumption that assimilation should be the goal of federal Indian policy. There were some improvements; for example, appropriations for food and clothing at government boarding schools were increased, and some of the corporal punishment of students was curtailed. Boarding school principals were now required to have college degrees, and several boarding schools were closed. Health-care appropriation also increased, but overall the Hoover administration took a cautious approach to change. Its efforts were minuscule compared with the great economic needs. On the eve of the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt, two-thirds of American Indians were landless. With a land base of 138 million acres in 1887, reservations accounted for only 52 million acres, and half of that was desert or semi desert. Historians are in universal agreement that federal Indian land policy “failed miserably” and that safeguarding Indian rights and land titles was not a governmental priority.
The onset of the Depression was not immediately obvious on the Yankton Reservation, because economic conditions were already depressed. As the Depression wore on and the weather became more and more severe, however, the situation worsened with the fear of sporadic starvation. Per capita income dropped as the farming crisis grew and white farmers in the area were less able to employ seasonal Yankton workers. The summer of 1931 was extremely hot, dry, and windy, creating dust storms with dark clouds that hid the sun. Dust piled up everywhere, especially along fences and homes. Hordes of grasshoppers invaded the region. Virtually all crops and vegetation withered in the sun. Many cattle died. The next two years brought more heat and dryness. In June 1933 the grasshoppers returned. There was little that could be done; Father Sylvester of the Marty Mission gathered some of his parishioners for a procession through parched fields, reciting the rosary, sprinkling holy water on the fields, and imploring God to stop the grasshoppers. The agency’s annual economic report for 1933 outlined these harsh conditions. There were only 201 employed people on the reservation, many of them earning minimal wages. This affected housing and clothing. Out of 289 homes (144 were one- or two-room houses), 174 were listed in fair to poor condition, and 25 percent of the people were described as having inadequate clothing. In 1933, however, came the beginning of relief. The government started a biweekly distribution of staples, such as flour, sugar, and cheese. Father Sylvester opened a soup kitchen at the mission feeding 100 to 200 people daily.
Not only were the summers insufferable, but the winters were not much better, with extreme cold and blizzards. Some described the winter of 1936 as the blizzard of the century. Heating homes was difficult. Almost everyone had coal- or wood-burning stoves, but there was little coal to be distributed. Some people burned their furniture and wood from their front porches for heat. Many Yanktons remember the despair of these years. No one could forget the grasshoppers, the shortage of food, or the deaths of many horses. Some of these memories have been preserved. Cecil Provost put it well: “no rain, dust, grasshoppers—day after day.” William O’Connor said the “times were deplorable.” The Marty Mission reopened its soup kitchen when necessary, and the government began to increase its supply of rations. In 1935 the government delivered several hundred mutton carcasses to hl peas the food crisis. Even with the government aid there rarely was sufficient food. Some communal farming was tried, and there were small family gardens, but they were not enough. In the winter of 1936 Father Sylvester wrote to John Collier, seeking help for the reservation: “Indians here freezing and starving. Situation deplorable . . . . Indians burning their furniture.” The following year several South Dakota newspapers reported on starvation on the Yankton Reservation, with headlines such as “Yankton Indians Starve.” The New Deal programs helped somewhat, but overall economic conditions did not improve.
President Roosevelt appointed Harold Ickes as secretary of the interior and John Collier as commission of Indian Affairs. These two men would reverse many of the government’s Indian policies. Collier had been advocating the reform of federal Indian policy for years. His reforms were based on a new philosophical principle that replaced the assimilation model of the past half-century with a model based on cultural pluralism, including economic development, a degree of self-government, religious freedom, and cultural autonomy. Some called it the “Indian New Deal.” Collier’s first step was emergency relief to impoverished reservations. The Yanktons received direct relief with the distribution of food and surplus clothing. In March 1933 Congress established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to put the nation’s unemployed to work. Some Yanktons went to Chamberlain, South Dakota, to work in an integrated CCC camp.
This was not a satisfactory solution for the heavy unemployment. Secretary Ickes and Collier had Congress approve a separate administrative unit called CCC-ID (Indian Division) in order to set up work camps on reservations. The workers received a salary of $30 per month. By the summer of 1933 the camps were open, and thousands were put to work. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program that provided work for people from all walks of life, sponsored some of the jobs. Both the CCC and WPA employed Yanktons. On the reservations they built the Song Hawk Dam and other smaller dams, springs were revitalized to provide water for cattle, and soil conservation projects were undertaken. Rebuilding roads and construction jobs at the new Indian hospital in Wagner also provided jobs. Over 80,000 American Indians were employed by the CCC-ID, 8,405 in South Dakota. The WPA employed several thousand more. These relief and rehabilitation programs did not solve the deep-seated economic problems, but they did provide jobs and much-needed income. These programs were essential to John Collier’s vision, but his real goal was to move beyond relief to reform.
The heart of John Collier’s reforms was embodied in the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), passed by Congress in June 1934. It established a variety of administrative programs that altered the federal relationship with American Indians. Its primary feature was to develop limited self-government on the reservations. In addition, the bill ended the allotment system, effectively stopping the loss of reservation land. Funds were also made available for community development, economic development, and loans for education. The IRA did not automatically apply to all reservations. Voters were asked to accept or reject reorganization und the new bill. The IRA received a mixed response, because it was a product of an Indian bureau that had developed and implemented many harmful policies over the last-century. The vote on the IRA created tension and divisiveness. Each reservation had to vote several times. The first vote was to accept or reject reorganization, but it was not a simple majority vote. A majority of eligible voters had to vote no in order to reject the IRA. That meant that voters who stayed home had their votes counted as yes votes. This created considerable resentment, as reconsideration was prohibited. There were 174 Indian groups that voted approval of the IRA and 78 that rejected. Upon approval, a tribal council was elected to draft a constitution that required approval by the secretary of interior and ratification by a majority vote on each reservation. The IRA then allowed each reservation government to petition for a charter of incorporation, which also had to be ratified by the voters. With the approval of the charter the tribe became a corporation. Under this system the tribal council had the power to hire lawyers, to control the sale or lease of tribal land, and to enter into negotiations wit the federal, state, and local governments. The IRA did not establish home rule or self-determination as it is understood today, but the reservations that accepted the IRA acquired limited power over local affairs.
The debates over the IRA, both on and off the reservations, were intense. Off the reservations the debates were between those who advocated a continuation of the assimilation policies of the past and those who supported Collier’s reforms. The antireform group included almost all the Christian missionaries. For example, the Catholic missions in South Dakota launched a negative campaign against John Collier and the IRA. Their attacks were circulated in letters and published in the Little Bronzed Angel and the Catholic Sioux Herald. They implied that John Collier was against religion and was promoting socialist if not communistic policies. They suggested that the very existence of Catholic schools was threatened by the passage of the IRA. Some longtime employees of the BIA also opposed the bill, arguing that it was a step backward and would revive the “blanket Indian” and perpetuate “tribalism.” Those in support of the IRA were the reformers of the 1920s and 1930s who believed that government polices were bankrupt.
On the reservations the debates were also intense, particularly in South Dakota, where they became an extension of the struggle between full-bloods and mixed-bloods. For the most part the full-bloods or traditionalists opposed the IRA; the mixed-bloods supported it. The full-bloods or traditionalists were suspicious of the federal government. They feared a loss of rights to a new tribal government. Those who had not sold their allotted land were afraid of confiscation of the land or loss of heirship rights. They feared that there was an underlying government agenda that was not in their best interests. Their suspicions were most intense against the mixed-bloods who supported the IRA. Many of the latter were landless, having sold their allotments and moved into the small towns in the area. Others were born after the allotment period and had not received any land. The full-bloods resented them for supposedly giving up their “Indian ways” and living an Anglo-American lifestyle. For their part, most of the mixed-bloods looked down on full-bloods for being unwilling or unable to be “progressive” and for clinging to “old ways.” The mixed-bloods saw the IRA as an opportunity for upward mobility by gaining political and economic benefits through a local government system that had access to economic development funds. Prior to the IRA, the debate was over who should represent the tribe in negotiations with the government. Under the IRA, an elected tribal council would have certain political and economic prerogatives. As the stakes increased, the intensity of the debate followed suit.
The debate over public issues was not new; it was a continuation of the political, economic, and cultural struggles that had been going on since the allotment system was instituted. As the Depression wore on and issues went unresolved, some Yanktons believed that a new tribal council was needed. A committee of nine, called the Claims Committee, was elected in 1924. It dealt with claims issues such as the Pipestone Quarry but did not involve itself in other reservation business. By 1931 four members of the committee had died; one resigned, leaving a committee of four, chaired by David Simmons. Many Yanktons felt that they were not well represented and wanted another election, because the remaining four members had not been reelected. In the summer of 1931 petitions were circulated calling for the election of a new tribal committee. Several Yanktons, including Sam Necklace, signed the petition, which was forwarded to the commissioner of Indian Affairs, who approved it and recommended that a constitution and bylaws be written. He also pointed out that the constitution had to be approved by his office before the Yanktons could vote on it. The commissioner reminded C. C. Hickman, the superintendent of the Yankton Agency, that an elected tribal council served only in an advisory capacity to the commissioner and the superintendent; it could only act on issues that were submitted to it and final action always rested with the Department of the Interior.
In September 1931 a constitution and bylaws were drafted and sent to Washington for approval. The constitution was based on a dependency model; the Yanktons could take no action without federal approval. The commissioner’ office approved the constitution, and the superintendent called a meeting of eligible voters to debate and vote on it. After a contentious meeting, the new constitution was approved by a vote of 230 to 125. The opposition was led by Raymond and Gertrude Bonnin and David Simmons (Gertrude’s half-brother). They argued that there was a duly constituted tribal committee and that the Clement Smith faction would control the new committee. After the new constitution was approved, an election was held for nine members of a new Business Committee. Clement Smith was elected chairman. One important point concerning Yankton politics in the 1920s and especially in the 1931 election is that women began to participate in the petitioning process and as voters.
The ratification of the constitution and the election of a tribal council did not settle the question of the old Claims committee of 1924. It was unclear if it was defunct or if there were two committees. The new constitution did not address the issue. Commissioner Charles J. Roads responded to this dilemma by declaring that the Yanktons had two elected committees. The 1924 committee would be responsible for claims issues; the 1931 committee would serve as the Tribal Council. Many Yanktons believed that politics influenced the ruling to keep two committees. The Bonnin/Simmons faction struggled with the Clement Smith group, which had initiated the 1931 constitution. The Bonnins were well-known personalities in Washington and may have influenced the decision of the commissioner to keep the 1924 committee. Gertrude was president of the National Council of American Indians, and Raymond was executive secretary-treasurer. They used the organization letterhead to send lengthy letters; they also wrote to several member of Congress, asking them to intervene with Roads on their behalf. The Bonnins lived in Washington part of the year and knew Rhoads personally. He would not accept any negative reports about the Bonnins that were sent to him by Superintendent Hickman.
The majority of the Yanktons were not happy with the decision. In April 1932 a new petition was sent to the BIA to “finally determine the selection of a new tribal business and claims committee” and readoption of a constitution and bylaws. The commissioner approved. The Yanktons met on 22 September at the agency headquarters in Greenwood. James Irving was elected to serve as chair of the meeting, and David Ree nominated Sam Necklace to serve as secretary. Sam declined the nomination, says that he wanted to take an active part in the proceedings. After considerable debate, they voted to abolish the 1924 committee. A new constitution was proposed, establishing a governing body called the Yankton Sioux Tribal Business and Claims committee, made up of nine enrolled Yanktons serving two-year terms. The constitution was approved which effectively decertified the 1931 constitution and 1931 Business Committee. The floor was opened for nomination to the new committee. There were twenty-one nominations. Sam Necklace nominated Ben Vardall, a member of the Native American Church. Everyone voted for nine candidates, with the top nine who received the most votes becoming the new governing body. Vardall was not elected. Joseph Grabbingbear and Clement Smith received the most votes. On 5 October, Commissioner Rhoads approved the new constitution and bylaws and certified the election.
The onset of the Depression was not immediately obvious on the Yankton Reservation, because economic conditions were already depressed. As the Depression wore on and the weather became more and more severe, however, the situation worsened with the fear of sporadic starvation. Per capita income dropped as the farming crisis grew and white farmers in the area were less able to employ seasonal Yankton workers. The summer of 1931 was extremely hot, dry, and windy, creating dust storms with dark clouds that hid the sun. Dust piled up everywhere, especially along fences and homes. Hordes of grasshoppers invaded the region. Virtually all crops and vegetation withered in the sun. Many cattle died. The next two years brought more heat and dryness. In June 1933 the grasshoppers returned. There was little that could be done; Father Sylvester of the Marty Mission gathered some of his parishioners for a procession through parched fields, reciting the rosary, sprinkling holy water on the fields, and imploring God to stop the grasshoppers. The agency’s annual economic report for 1933 outlined these harsh conditions. There were only 201 employed people on the reservation, many of them earning minimal wages. This affected housing and clothing. Out of 289 homes (144 were one- or two-room houses), 174 were listed in fair to poor condition, and 25 percent of the people were described as having inadequate clothing. In 1933, however, came the beginning of relief. The government started a biweekly distribution of staples, such as flour, sugar, and cheese. Father Sylvester opened a soup kitchen at the mission feeding 100 to 200 people daily.
Not only were the summers insufferable, but the winters were not much better, with extreme cold and blizzards. Some described the winter of 1936 as the blizzard of the century. Heating homes was difficult. Almost everyone had coal- or wood-burning stoves, but there was little coal to be distributed. Some people burned their furniture and wood from their front porches for heat. Many Yanktons remember the despair of these years. No one could forget the grasshoppers, the shortage of food, or the deaths of many horses. Some of these memories have been preserved. Cecil Provost put it well: “no rain, dust, grasshoppers—day after day.” William O’Connor said the “times were deplorable.” The Marty Mission reopened its soup kitchen when necessary, and the government began to increase its supply of rations. In 1935 the government delivered several hundred mutton carcasses to hl peas the food crisis. Even with the government aid there rarely was sufficient food. Some communal farming was tried, and there were small family gardens, but they were not enough. In the winter of 1936 Father Sylvester wrote to John Collier, seeking help for the reservation: “Indians here freezing and starving. Situation deplorable . . . . Indians burning their furniture.” The following year several South Dakota newspapers reported on starvation on the Yankton Reservation, with headlines such as “Yankton Indians Starve.” The New Deal programs helped somewhat, but overall economic conditions did not improve.
President Roosevelt appointed Harold Ickes as secretary of the interior and John Collier as commission of Indian Affairs. These two men would reverse many of the government’s Indian policies. Collier had been advocating the reform of federal Indian policy for years. His reforms were based on a new philosophical principle that replaced the assimilation model of the past half-century with a model based on cultural pluralism, including economic development, a degree of self-government, religious freedom, and cultural autonomy. Some called it the “Indian New Deal.” Collier’s first step was emergency relief to impoverished reservations. The Yanktons received direct relief with the distribution of food and surplus clothing. In March 1933 Congress established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to put the nation’s unemployed to work. Some Yanktons went to Chamberlain, South Dakota, to work in an integrated CCC camp.
This was not a satisfactory solution for the heavy unemployment. Secretary Ickes and Collier had Congress approve a separate administrative unit called CCC-ID (Indian Division) in order to set up work camps on reservations. The workers received a salary of $30 per month. By the summer of 1933 the camps were open, and thousands were put to work. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program that provided work for people from all walks of life, sponsored some of the jobs. Both the CCC and WPA employed Yanktons. On the reservations they built the Song Hawk Dam and other smaller dams, springs were revitalized to provide water for cattle, and soil conservation projects were undertaken. Rebuilding roads and construction jobs at the new Indian hospital in Wagner also provided jobs. Over 80,000 American Indians were employed by the CCC-ID, 8,405 in South Dakota. The WPA employed several thousand more. These relief and rehabilitation programs did not solve the deep-seated economic problems, but they did provide jobs and much-needed income. These programs were essential to John Collier’s vision, but his real goal was to move beyond relief to reform.
The heart of John Collier’s reforms was embodied in the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), passed by Congress in June 1934. It established a variety of administrative programs that altered the federal relationship with American Indians. Its primary feature was to develop limited self-government on the reservations. In addition, the bill ended the allotment system, effectively stopping the loss of reservation land. Funds were also made available for community development, economic development, and loans for education. The IRA did not automatically apply to all reservations. Voters were asked to accept or reject reorganization und the new bill. The IRA received a mixed response, because it was a product of an Indian bureau that had developed and implemented many harmful policies over the last-century. The vote on the IRA created tension and divisiveness. Each reservation had to vote several times. The first vote was to accept or reject reorganization, but it was not a simple majority vote. A majority of eligible voters had to vote no in order to reject the IRA. That meant that voters who stayed home had their votes counted as yes votes. This created considerable resentment, as reconsideration was prohibited. There were 174 Indian groups that voted approval of the IRA and 78 that rejected. Upon approval, a tribal council was elected to draft a constitution that required approval by the secretary of interior and ratification by a majority vote on each reservation. The IRA then allowed each reservation government to petition for a charter of incorporation, which also had to be ratified by the voters. With the approval of the charter the tribe became a corporation. Under this system the tribal council had the power to hire lawyers, to control the sale or lease of tribal land, and to enter into negotiations wit the federal, state, and local governments. The IRA did not establish home rule or self-determination as it is understood today, but the reservations that accepted the IRA acquired limited power over local affairs.
The debates over the IRA, both on and off the reservations, were intense. Off the reservations the debates were between those who advocated a continuation of the assimilation policies of the past and those who supported Collier’s reforms. The antireform group included almost all the Christian missionaries. For example, the Catholic missions in South Dakota launched a negative campaign against John Collier and the IRA. Their attacks were circulated in letters and published in the Little Bronzed Angel and the Catholic Sioux Herald. They implied that John Collier was against religion and was promoting socialist if not communistic policies. They suggested that the very existence of Catholic schools was threatened by the passage of the IRA. Some longtime employees of the BIA also opposed the bill, arguing that it was a step backward and would revive the “blanket Indian” and perpetuate “tribalism.” Those in support of the IRA were the reformers of the 1920s and 1930s who believed that government polices were bankrupt.
On the reservations the debates were also intense, particularly in South Dakota, where they became an extension of the struggle between full-bloods and mixed-bloods. For the most part the full-bloods or traditionalists opposed the IRA; the mixed-bloods supported it. The full-bloods or traditionalists were suspicious of the federal government. They feared a loss of rights to a new tribal government. Those who had not sold their allotted land were afraid of confiscation of the land or loss of heirship rights. They feared that there was an underlying government agenda that was not in their best interests. Their suspicions were most intense against the mixed-bloods who supported the IRA. Many of the latter were landless, having sold their allotments and moved into the small towns in the area. Others were born after the allotment period and had not received any land. The full-bloods resented them for supposedly giving up their “Indian ways” and living an Anglo-American lifestyle. For their part, most of the mixed-bloods looked down on full-bloods for being unwilling or unable to be “progressive” and for clinging to “old ways.” The mixed-bloods saw the IRA as an opportunity for upward mobility by gaining political and economic benefits through a local government system that had access to economic development funds. Prior to the IRA, the debate was over who should represent the tribe in negotiations with the government. Under the IRA, an elected tribal council would have certain political and economic prerogatives. As the stakes increased, the intensity of the debate followed suit.
The debate over public issues was not new; it was a continuation of the political, economic, and cultural struggles that had been going on since the allotment system was instituted. As the Depression wore on and issues went unresolved, some Yanktons believed that a new tribal council was needed. A committee of nine, called the Claims Committee, was elected in 1924. It dealt with claims issues such as the Pipestone Quarry but did not involve itself in other reservation business. By 1931 four members of the committee had died; one resigned, leaving a committee of four, chaired by David Simmons. Many Yanktons felt that they were not well represented and wanted another election, because the remaining four members had not been reelected. In the summer of 1931 petitions were circulated calling for the election of a new tribal committee. Several Yanktons, including Sam Necklace, signed the petition, which was forwarded to the commissioner of Indian Affairs, who approved it and recommended that a constitution and bylaws be written. He also pointed out that the constitution had to be approved by his office before the Yanktons could vote on it. The commissioner reminded C. C. Hickman, the superintendent of the Yankton Agency, that an elected tribal council served only in an advisory capacity to the commissioner and the superintendent; it could only act on issues that were submitted to it and final action always rested with the Department of the Interior.
In September 1931 a constitution and bylaws were drafted and sent to Washington for approval. The constitution was based on a dependency model; the Yanktons could take no action without federal approval. The commissioner’ office approved the constitution, and the superintendent called a meeting of eligible voters to debate and vote on it. After a contentious meeting, the new constitution was approved by a vote of 230 to 125. The opposition was led by Raymond and Gertrude Bonnin and David Simmons (Gertrude’s half-brother). They argued that there was a duly constituted tribal committee and that the Clement Smith faction would control the new committee. After the new constitution was approved, an election was held for nine members of a new Business Committee. Clement Smith was elected chairman. One important point concerning Yankton politics in the 1920s and especially in the 1931 election is that women began to participate in the petitioning process and as voters.
The ratification of the constitution and the election of a tribal council did not settle the question of the old Claims committee of 1924. It was unclear if it was defunct or if there were two committees. The new constitution did not address the issue. Commissioner Charles J. Roads responded to this dilemma by declaring that the Yanktons had two elected committees. The 1924 committee would be responsible for claims issues; the 1931 committee would serve as the Tribal Council. Many Yanktons believed that politics influenced the ruling to keep two committees. The Bonnin/Simmons faction struggled with the Clement Smith group, which had initiated the 1931 constitution. The Bonnins were well-known personalities in Washington and may have influenced the decision of the commissioner to keep the 1924 committee. Gertrude was president of the National Council of American Indians, and Raymond was executive secretary-treasurer. They used the organization letterhead to send lengthy letters; they also wrote to several member of Congress, asking them to intervene with Roads on their behalf. The Bonnins lived in Washington part of the year and knew Rhoads personally. He would not accept any negative reports about the Bonnins that were sent to him by Superintendent Hickman.
The majority of the Yanktons were not happy with the decision. In April 1932 a new petition was sent to the BIA to “finally determine the selection of a new tribal business and claims committee” and readoption of a constitution and bylaws. The commissioner approved. The Yanktons met on 22 September at the agency headquarters in Greenwood. James Irving was elected to serve as chair of the meeting, and David Ree nominated Sam Necklace to serve as secretary. Sam declined the nomination, says that he wanted to take an active part in the proceedings. After considerable debate, they voted to abolish the 1924 committee. A new constitution was proposed, establishing a governing body called the Yankton Sioux Tribal Business and Claims committee, made up of nine enrolled Yanktons serving two-year terms. The constitution was approved which effectively decertified the 1931 constitution and 1931 Business Committee. The floor was opened for nomination to the new committee. There were twenty-one nominations. Sam Necklace nominated Ben Vardall, a member of the Native American Church. Everyone voted for nine candidates, with the top nine who received the most votes becoming the new governing body. Vardall was not elected. Joseph Grabbingbear and Clement Smith received the most votes. On 5 October, Commissioner Rhoads approved the new constitution and bylaws and certified the election.