The Native American participation in WWI influenced the decision to grant citizenship to all Native Americans in 1924. Before, one of the only pathways to citizenship was through the Dawes Act, which granted citizenship to Native Americans with allotments after around 25 years. 1As we have talked about in class, this allotment system was problematic as it strived to assimilate Native Americans into Euro-American culture. The issue of inheritance was also complicated as the amount of land did not grow with each generation. In WWI, thousands of Native Americans, even those who were non-citizens, volunteered or were drafted into the war, several of them serving as code talkers, which helped bring along the end of the war (10/14 lecture). The Department of Interior Report (1952) expressed that Native Americans were all granted citizenship in 1924 as an “expression of gratitude from the people of the United States to the many noncitizen Indians who had volunteered for armed service and had fought with distinction during the First World War.”2 This reads as if they only become worthy of citizenship because they fought for the United States. It is also framed as an act of gratitude, rather than something that Native Americans naturally deserted or were entitled to. Although the Interior Report lists Native veterans as the sole reason for granting citizenship, the actions of Native American organizations, such as the Society of American Indians (SAI) influenced and pushed the government to grant all Native Americans citizenship.3 I think it’s important to acknowledge the actions of Native Americans in this process of citizenship, rather than simply calling it an act of gratitude from the U.S.
Though this act seems great, there were still a lot of issues with it. The rights that Native Americans were promised did not always happen, as many Native Americans were barred from voting. They were also still widely discriminated against, both in the legal system and society. I also would not be surprised if the Act was passed as a way to further assimilate Native Americans into American culture. It could be construed as another pathway for Native Americans to become fully American and renounce their tribe. Though Native sovereignty remained under U.S. citizenship, the Act was not supported by all Native communities. For example, the members of the Onondaga Nation sent a letter to the president, protesting the decision to grant all Native Americans citizenship. The letter stated, “We, the Indians, have not as yet tired of the free use and enjoyment of our rights, as Indians living on reservations.”4 It seems that some Native Americans felt that their sovereignty was under threat, which considering the history between the U.S. and Native communities, is a valid and justified worry.
- https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dawes-act ↩︎
- https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/reservations-resistance-and-the-indian-reorganization-act-1900-1940/sources/1762 ↩︎
- https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/news/2024/looking-back-at-the-1924-indian-citizenship-act.html ↩︎
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-century-ago-this-law-underscored-the-promises-and-pitfalls-of-native-american-citizenship-180984426/ ↩︎