Īs World War II arrived and the New Deal wound down, American Indians gave back to the country that had – finally – put its faith in them and provided them material support. These were funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Public Works Administration (PWA), and Office of Indian Affairs (OIA). In addition, the New Deal developed the infrastructure on American Indian reservations, such as roads, schools and hospitals. By the end of the CCC program, parts of 50 million acres on over 200 reservations in 23 states had been improved. One enrollee said: “This work has provided an income for us and has enabled us to keep alive while, at the same time, it has given us a better perspective on our goals in life”. This work provided paychecks to people in need, improved reservation land, and lifted the spirits of many American Indians during the challenging times of the Great Depression. Between 19, over 85,000 American Indian men enrolled in the CCC, working on erosion control, forest management, roadwork, and so on. Seneca Indian William Gordon makes bows and arrows on a WPA recreation project near Rochester, New York, 1936.Ī key New Deal program that benefitted American Indians was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Today, the Indian Arts and Crafts Board (still part of the Department of the Interior) “promotes the economic development of American Indians and Alaska Natives of federally recognized Tribes through the expansion of the Indian arts and crafts market”. Also, American Indians were employed on work-relief projects to create pottery, rugs, blankets, and other goods and handicrafts and Indian artists were hired or commissioned by New Deal agencies to create art for public places across the country. The law recognized the importance American Indian art and put in place several mechanisms for its protection and promotion. In the same New Deal spirit, Congress passed the Indian Arts and Crafts Act in 1935. The implementation of the law was not always perfect, but it marked a revolutionary change in the relationship between the federal government and the American Indian. The law protected and restored land to American Indians, encouraged self-government, increased educational opportunities, and made available much-needed credit for small farms. The IRA was the brainchild of Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier, an appointee of President Franklin Roosevelt.
Over 90 million acres of tribal land held under treaties were taken, more than two-thirds of the tribal land base… In 1934, Congress rejected allotment and assimilation and passed the IRA”. As one American Indian leader told Congress in 2011: “Kill the Indian and save the man was the slogan of that era… The Federal Government did everything it could to disband our tribes, break up our families and suppress our culture. With the end of conquest, a new phase began with the Dawes Act of 1887, passed with the aim of converting the remaining Indians to American agrarian practices as small landholders and farmers. Office of Indian Affairs, August 1941 edition.
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