The Inconvenient Indian Terms

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was a piece of legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1971. Under ANCSA, Alaska Natives received 44 million acres of land… read analysis of Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA)

The American Indian Movement is a Native American grassroots organization founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as a response to police brutality against Native people. Over time, the organization developed into a national movement. The… read analysis of American Indian Movement (AIM)

Bill C-31 is an amendment to the Indian Act that the Canadian government passed in 1985. The bill allows Native women who lost their Legal Indian Status through marriage to regain their Status. Prior to… read analysis of Bill C-31

The U.S. uses “blood quantum” laws to determine legal Native American Status, judging an individual’s Status as a legally recognized Native American by the fraction of Native American ancestry in their bloodline. Most tribes in… read analysis of Blood Quantum

The Cherokee Freedmen is a term that refers to people who were formerly enslaved by the Cherokee people and their descendants. They were of African and mixed African and Cherokee ancestry. Under a treaty the… read analysis of Cherokee Freedmen

The U.S. Congress passed the General Allotment Act (also known as the Dawes Act) in 1887. Allotment replaced removal and relocation as the official government policy on assimilating the country’s Indian population. Under the General… read analysis of General Allotment Act

House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 108 was a law passed in 1953 that made “termination” the official U.S. policy on Indian relations. King refers to termination as the “midcentury version of colonialism.” Under termination… read analysis of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 108

The Indian Act of 1876 is a law passed by the Canadian Government that defines which individuals are legally recognized as Native people and authorized to receive government resources. The act also outlines policies and… read analysis of Indian Act of 1876

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) is legislation that the U.S. Congress passed in 1988. The act officially recognized American Indians’ right to operate gaming establishments on tribal land. The act also established regulations that… read analysis of Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) into law in 1934. The IRA ended allotment as the government’s official policy and returned to tribes the surplus land they lost during the allotment… read analysis of Indian Reorganization Act (IRA)

The Métis are one of Canada’s three recognized Aboriginal groups—the other two are Indians (First Nations) and the Inuit. The Métis are of mixed Indian, English, and French descent. They are not recognized as Status… read analysis of Métis

The Nunavut Land Claims Agreement was a 1993 settlement between the Canadian Government and the Inuit that gave the Inuit of the central and eastern Northwest Territories a new territory, Nunavut, in the eastern region… read analysis of Nunavut Land Claims Agreement

Signed into law by President Andrew Jackson in 1830, the Removal Act made removal and relocation the U.S.’s official policy on managing the Indian population. The Removal Act authorized the government to seize Indian lands… read analysis of Removal Act

Termination was the official policy the U.S. and Canada adopted in the 1950s and 1960s to minimize government spending on subsidies for tribal citizens living on reservations. The passage of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 108… read analysis of Termination

The Trail of Tears refers to the forced removal of the Cherokee from their land in Georgia. This took place after the Removal Act authorized the U.S. government to seize Indian land and relocate tribes… read analysis of Trail of Tears