A poster from the allotment era. Image by Braden208
With allies of Republican president-elect Donald Trump looking to reform the federal-tribal relationship, Steven Newcomb (Shawnee / Lenape) of the Indigenous Law Institute reminds Indian Country of the devastating impacts of the Dawes Act, the law that authorized the taking of indigenous lands through the allotment process:
There are already proposals being put forth for the Trump administration to supposedly “free the Indians” from the yoke of federal control by “privatizing Indian lands,” particularly what the mainstream press has termed “oil-rich lands.” We would be wise to remember, however, that such failed proposals have been put forward before, going back to the Dawes Allotment Act in the nineteenth century. Here’s some food for thought: private land or property is taxable, and the power to tax is the power to destroy. Premised on the doctrine of Christian discovery and domination, the Dawes General Allotment Act was enacted by Congress on February 8, 1887. This year, 2017, marks 130 years since the passage of that congressional act, which resulted in the non-Indian society economically benefitting by land-grabbing and “privatizing” tens of millions of acres of the territories of our Original Nations. In his book Of Utmost Good Faith (1971), Vine Deloria Jr., published a speech by Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado who opposed the Allotment Act. Teller’s concern with that legislation is applicable to the recent proposal to “privatize” (also spelled “tax”) Indian lands, “It is in the interest of the speculators; it is in the interest of the men who are clutching up this land, but not in the interest of the Indians at all.”Read More on the Story:
Steven Newcomb: 130th Anniversary of the General Allotment Act (Indian Country Today 1/13)
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