Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975

The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, often referred to simply as the Indian Self-Determination Act, enacted authorization for the Secretaries of the Interior and of Health, Education and Welfare and some other government agencies to enter into contract with and make grants directly to federally recognized Indian tribes. This allows for the tribes themselves to have greater control in decisions regarding their own welfare rather than allocating the decision making to government officials.

Brief History

"Main Article:Native American Self-Determination."

Indian Self-Determination had early foundations, at least legally speaking, in the creation of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934. The IRA allowed for tribal self-governance in the forms of creation of constitutions and employment of counsel, albeit limited self-determination in that all tribal actions were subject to scrutiny by the Secretary of the Interior. All progress made by the IRA was greatly jeopardized by the Termination policies of the 1950's, wherein the federal government sought to utilize its special relationship with Indian tribes by terminating their legal existence, successfully terminating more than 100 tribes and communities. "For more on Termination, please see Indian termination policy."

As the failure of Termination policies came to be realized in the late 1960's, the federal government began working to return to greater Indian rights represented by the earlier IRA. The passage of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 was highly influential in the road to self-determination, as it guaranteed the imposition of the Bill of Rights upon Indian Country - a guarantee it never had given its special relationship to the federal government. The rise of activist groups, namely the American Indian Movement, and high profile demonstrations like the occupation of Alcatraz, helped bring the issue of Native American rights to greater prominence in public policy. However, it wasn't until Richard Nixon's July 8th "Message from the President of the United States Transmitting Recommendations for Indian Policy" that self-determination became enunciated as a goal of the United States government. Proclaiming termination as a mislead and inherently wrong policy, the message called for broad-sweeping self-determination legislation that would eventually culminate in the Indian Self-Determination Act.

Implementation

The fundamental basis of the Indian Self-Determination Act was that if members of a tribe wanted a new health clinic, day care center, etc., it would now contract with the government agency it wanted to, receive a grant for the funding, and build infrastructure itself instead of having to rely on the federal agency to handle all aspects of its creation. In the early years after the bill's passage, resistance was heavy from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, making approval of funds for tribal use very strict. But continued efforts on the part of tribal leaders to obtain the grant money, and the aided pressure from congressional officials eventually eased the tension. The influence of the BIA over tribal affairs slowly lessened, bringing greater morale and hopes for greater self-determination to Indian Country.-- () 04:42, 3 October 2008 (UTC)

References

* Jack Utter. American Indians: Answers to Today's Questions (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press) pg.278-279
* William C. Canby, Jr.. American Indian Law in a Nut Shell (St. Paul: West Publishing Co.) pg. 23-33
* Charles Wilkinson. Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations (New York: W.W. Norton and Co.) pg. 180-187