Indian Reorganization Pros And Cons

Native Americans have had an estimated 1.5 billion acres of land taken from them by the United States (The Invasion of America). Nearly every tribe’s land has been greatly reduced by white settlers, whether by forceful removal or sneaky laws and enactments. Losing so much land can be devastating to a nation. The location of a nation can determine the natural resources that can be used, the size and population, and the territorial jurisdiction. Land not only provides economic opportunity, but is also a “hallmark of identity”, a “barometer of community integrity”, and “a repository for […] the remains of ancestors and their artifacts, the cornerstones of worldviews, and moral lessons from the past” (d). Native Americans often have a spiritual …show more content…
The Indian Reorganization Act was a law that allowed tribes to once again govern themselves, given that they created a Constitution that was approved by the United States government. Some tribes wrote their own Constitution, but many tried to make it as similar to the United States Constitution as possible, or even used a template provided to them by the United States government. The Winnebago and Muckleshoot Constitutions both try to appeal to the United States government by using the same format as the United States Constitution, writing it in English, and leaving out any form of religion. The structure of their Constitutions are exactly the same, the only difference being the variation of content, so it is likely that they both used a template that was given to them by the United States government. The two are organized by articles that are divided into sections, with an opening preamble. In both Constitutions, the territorial jurisdiction is outlined in Article I, and an extensive list of land laws is recorded in Article …show more content…
The Muckleshoot tribe of Washington, composed of descendents of multiple Western Washington tribes, was reduced when a conflict between Natives and whites lead to cession treaties in 1855. A later meeting between Native tribes and white settlers of Washington lead to the establishment of the Muckleshoot reservation that all the tribes would eventually be grouped into; however, they did not receive all the land that was promised to them (History of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe), and it was decreased even more by the Dawes Act. The boundaries of the land they were left with are defined in Article I Section 2, which go on to say that “... [the jurisdiction] shall extend to such other lands as may be hereafter added,” opening the possibility of extending them. Many sections of Article VIII end with similar phrases that acknowledge potential land extension or allow the tribe to use land in certain circumstances in order to increase the likelihood of gaining more land in the future. For example, Section 2, which describes how unallotted land shall be dealt with, ends with the phrase “or otherwise used by the tribe as hereinafter provided.” There is also an entire section, Section 12, devoted to describing the conditions in which “tribal funds may used [...] to