Civilization Fund Act
Pub. L. 15–85 | |
| Statutes at Large | 3 Stat. 516b, Chap. 85 |
|---|---|
| Legislative history | |
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The Civilization Fund Act, also known as the Indian Civilization Act, was an
The Civilization Fund Act eventually led to the creation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 1824. The BIA was responsible for implementing various aspects of U.S. government policy towards Native Americans, including overseeing the educational programs funded by the Civilization Fund Act.
The benevolent societies were a combination of
Federal funds were allocated to schools designed to educate Native Americans in the English language and ways of Anglo-Americans. The goal was to "civilize" Native Americans by teaching them reading and writing in the missionary schools. Later in the century, there was more emphasis on forcing them to give up native religions, culture and languages.[2]
The passage of the Act resulted in development of a new class structure within Native American societies. While often traditional Native Americans opposed the schools, "progressive" ones, including senior leaders, accepted the schools, believing they were a way for their people to learn to negotiate with the increasing number of European Americans they encountered.[citation needed] Some of these young men with education and command of the English language rose to leadership positions within tribes, as in the American Southeast. According to historian William Jeynes, they were influenced to agree to treaties that ceded communal lands to the United States government.[3] Within the tribal communities, some leaders believed that, given the increasing number of American settlers entering their territories, the tribes were going to be forced to cede their lands, and they were trying to gain the best deals for their people.
"That for the purpose of guarding against the further decline and final extinction of the Indian tribes, adjoining the frontier settlements of the United States, are for introducing among them the habits and arts of civilization" annual sum/annuity is ten thousand dollars "and an account of the expenditure of the money, and proceedings in execution of the foregoing provisions, shall be laid annually before Congress."[4]
The
See also
Notes
- ^ Hamilton, Robert. "United States and Native American Relations". Florida Gulf Coast University. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
- ^ Levy, Yolanda H. "Deculturalization and Schooling of Native Americans", Retrieved on September 9, 2009
- ^ Jeynes, William. American Educational History: school, society, and the common good (2007), Retrieved September 9, 2009
- ISBN 0-8032-8762-3
- ^ Digital History Online Textbook. "The Missionary Impulse" Archived February 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, "Native American Voices", September 9, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
Further reading
- Ellinghaus, Katherine. Taking Assimilation to Heart: Marriages of White Women and Indigenous Men in the United States and Australia, 1887-1937 ISBN 0-8032-1829-X, 9780803218291, 2006.
- Hale, Lorraine. Native American Education: A Reference Handbook, ISBN 978-1-57607-363-6, 2002.