Between Two Worlds: The Survival of Twentieth Century Indians Page: 45
This book is part of the collection entitled: Oklahoma Historical Society Monographs and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the UNT Libraries.
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45
providing for citizenship through treaties and special statutes
covering both whole tribes and individuals. The Indian
Citizenship Act granted blanket citizenship to all non-citizen
Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States
without affecting their tribal allegiance or economic ties.'
Aside from the 1888 Act granting citizenship to Indian women
marrying white men2 and the 1919 legislation providing
citizenship to World War I Indian veterans upon application,3
this legislation was the only citizenship act that did not tie
citizenship to land tenure or termination of tribal relations.
In most of the treaties and statutes providing for citizenship
in the nineteenth century, Congress made land tenure and
Indian citizenship inseparable. The 1817 treaty with the
Cherokees included a provision allocating 640 acres in fee
simple to each head of an Indian family desiring to become a
United States citizen, but it neglected to establish the process
for obtaining citizenship.4 Numerous treaties with the Five
Civilized Tribes and the Old Northwest Tribes prior to their
removal to Indian Territory included similar provisions
providing for allotment, tribal separation, adoption of "civilized
ways," and citizenship.5 In the post-Civil War era, numerous
treaties and statutes carried similar provisions.6
Government officials as well as the American population
largely held the view that an Indian could become a United
States citizen by shedding his "Indianness," terminating
tribal relations, and living in a "civilized manner." In 1884 the
Supreme Court decision of Elk v. Wilkins shattered this belief.
According to this decision, an Indian could not become a
United States citizen through his own efforts by severing tribal
affiliations and living as an Anglo. Only Congress could make
the Indian a citizen. The Supreme Court clearly indicated that
Congress needed to establish a means for Indians to become
citizens. The decision pointed out that the fourteenth amend-
ment did not provide citizenship for the Indian. According to
the interpretation of the majority of the Supreme Court justices,
Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States
were not under its jurisdiction. Therefore the fourteenth amend-
ment did not apply to them.7
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Between Two Worlds: The Survival of Twentieth Century Indians (Book)
Book containing historical information about Native American-U. S. Government relations during the 20th Century, including different pieces of legislation passed against and in support of the American Indians. Index begins on page 236.
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Gibson, Arrell Morgan. Between Two Worlds: The Survival of Twentieth Century Indians, book, 1986; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc862903/m1/61/?q=War+of+the+Rebellion.: accessed July 16, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; .