Indian Appropriation Acts

Each year, the U.S. Congress provides funding for Native Americans as part of its trust responsibilities and treaty obligations for the exchange of native lands that constitute U.S. territory. These appropriations can be included under the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs budget in the general civil appropriations or as special appropriations. In the past, funds were included under the U.S. Army's appropriation, with special allocations made for treaty negotiations and initial compensation for land and the guarantee of Indians’ welfare. Many treaties stated that payments would continue in perpetuity, although Congress has often expressed that these obligations were onerous and should cease.

Appropriations reflect American attitudes, court decisions about Native American policies, the role of the federal government in Indian lives and cultures, and political, social, and economic agendas. Special Indian appropriation acts have been created in order to fund special programs or address specific issues. Some of these programs dealt with removal from, or the purchase of, land via treaty or executive order. The Cherokee Trail of Tears and the removal of tribes from the eastern United States were funded by a special appropriation, as was the purchase of Osage lands on [Page 1163]which the Cherokee settled. The Navajo removal to Bosque Redondo in 1863 was part of the general Army appropriation, itemized as part of the Civil War budget to keep the lines of communication open to California. The concentration camp for the Navajo and the Mescalero Apache proved to be so costly, however, that the line item was eliminated in 1869 after the 1868 treaty.

Some appropriation acts had far-reaching repercussions and established or implemented policy. The Indian Appropriation Act of 1851 contained funds to establish reservations for Indian groups in the western United States, essentially everyone west of the Mississippi, and is the basis for the modern reservation system. This act was a response to population movements and to expansionism and economic growth as conceptualized in the idea of Manifest destiny. The removal of Indians to reservations was a continuation of President Andrew Jackson's policies, which maintained that Indians needed to be moved for their own protection. Commissioner of Indian Affairs Orlando Brown said that Indian reservations would be in isolated areas, that is, away from Euroamerican settlers and squatters and the lands they desired; be suited to agriculture; and have well-defined boundaries; he also said the Indians should be compelled to remain on the reservations until they were “civilized” and ready for civilization. Brown thought the reservations would protect the Indians (using the trust doctrine and the idea that Indian groups are domestic dependent nations) but also restrict their movements and lead to greater control by the military.

The Indian Appropriation Act of 1871 (25 U.S.C. Section 71) also had far-reaching policy implications. Under this act, the United States would no longer recognize Indian “tribes, nations or powers” as independent nations. This meant that Indian groups would not be treated as sovereign nations with whom the federal government would negotiate treaties, although previous treaties were not invalidated. Fishing rights were also upheld, and the federal government was given the duty of educating Indians, a responsibility that led to the Indian boarding school system. In addition, Congress directed that all Indians should be treated as individuals and legally designated “wards” of the federal government under the trust doctrine. Now all Native Americans were seen as ignorant children of the government, an alteration in status that gave the federal government more control over Indian lives and a way to break up political entities. The bill also made it easier to secure Indian land cessions, which could now be done by congressional fiat, Supreme Court order, or executive order, thus saving the expense of treaty negations.

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