The Rights of Indigenous People in the United States of America: A Brief Overview - Roots to present

Tatiana Khokhlova

Inspired by the visit of The National Museum of the American Indian in NYC.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

When talking about environmental law, we usually mention the issues of global warming, climate change, massive deforestation, air pollution, and hazardous natural disasters caused by human activities. However, one of the most neglected yet fundamentally important aspects of environmental law overlapping with the law of human rights is the topic of indigenous people and their rights. Residing in more than 90 countries,[1] Indigenous people have been oppressed and have been facing acts of discrimination for ages. Even though many countries have recently made vast progress in protecting Indigenous peoples’ lives and increasing their representation, it is undeniable that there is still a long way to go to ensure that Indigenous People all around the world may fully enjoy their rights. This article will help you learn more about the evolution of Indigenous people’s rights within one of the largest countries in the world, namely the United States of America.

The Beginning

The number of Indigenous people residing in America is estimated at approximately 2.5 million to 6 million, with the 2 largest groups residing in the states of Oklahoma, Arizona and in New Mexico.[2] The history of Native Americans fighting for the recognition of their rights began in the 16th century when the European settlers started colonizing the territories of the American continent by killing and displacing local tribes and nations.[3] The policy established during Andrew Jackson’s presidency (1829-1837) supported acts of genocide against the native population including slavery and forced displacement. “The country can be rid of them only by exterminating them” - the quote of the US Army General Thomas S. Jesup published in 1836 describes the American approach regarding indigenous representatives in the first half of the 19th century.[4]

The Assimilation Era

A new period in the history of Native American people started in 1887 when the US Congress passed the Dawes Act,[5] whose aim was to provide allotments of land to Native American families.[6] In reality, this legislation allowed the federal government to break up the lands previously possessed by Indigenous tribes and turn them into private ownerships. In line with the new territorial policy, the act strived to assimilate Native People to American society while promising US citizenship to all who “adopted the habits of civilized life”.[7] Native Americans who refused to withdraw from their traditions and beliefs endured numerous issues. For instance, many American Indian children became victims of kidnapping and were placed in special boarding schools where they were forced to adapt to American mainstream culture and values.[8]

The situation improved in 1924 when the US legislative branch adopted the Indian Citizenship Act, granting US Citizenship to all Native Americans born and residing on the territory of the USA.[9] Even though the new federal legislation allowed American Indians to obtain all rights that other US citizens enjoy, Native Americans were excluded from the right to vote until the 1950s. In 1948, the Arizona State Supreme Court overturned the ruling of Porter V. Hall[10] case in which the Arizona Supreme Court had ruled that, even though members of an American Indian tribe were residents of the State of Arizona within the constitutional provision requiring residence in the state, American Indians could not vote by reason that they were "persons under guardianship" of the federal government and thereby were not allowed to participate in elections in Arizona.[12] The new Court decision on this case removed all voting barriers for native Americans and granted them unlimited rights to vote. Other states later followed that decision. After the adoption of The Voting Rights Act in 1965, the remaining restrictions banning American Indians from participation in elections on both local and federal levels were completely erased.[12]

The Regrettable Reality of 20th Century

Despite having the full rights of American citizens, Indigenous representatives experienced difficulties in all aspects of life and remained the poorest minority in the US. Moreover, many American Indians faced injustice, violence, and unlawful treatment. As, for example, in the 1960s and 1970s, thousands of Native American women became victims of forced sterilization in reservations hospitals nationwide.[13] Seeking an end to human rights violations, racial discrimination and police brutality, Native Americans organised an American Indian Movement (AIM),[14] with the main goals of protecting their civil rights and restoring the lands that were illegally seized from them. The AIM participated in several disobedient events, such as the Al Catraz Island occupation in 1969-1971 and the civil rights protection March in Washington D.C. in 1972.[15]

Progress in the 21st Century

The new century may be called a triumph in terms of developing legal protection of Indigenous people across the world. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) that gained 144 votes in favour, 11 abstentions and only 4 votes against.[16] At first, The United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand did not support the declaration. Nevertheless, Australia adopted UNIDRIP in 2009, New Zealand followed Australia a year later, and in 2016 Canada also ratified the UNIDRIP. Thus, USA has been remaining the only state still opposing the declaration. Although, as a member of the Organization of American States, the US ratified the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,, adopted on June 15, 2016, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Preambulatory clauses of the Declaration emphasize the importance of Indigenous people's rights support and highlight the significance of the Native American cultures and traditions while urging the member states to respect and protect Indigenous people representatives at the State level.[18] Nowadays, even after the adoption of the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, Native Americans are trying to protect their lands from natural resource exploitation and environmental damage. The most famous case is Keystone XL,[19] when Indian representatives together with climate activists opposed the permission for establishment and operating of the oil pipeline in proximity to American Indian tribes’ reservations. Since Joe Biden’s presidency, the Keystone XL project has been frozen and abandoned.[20] Native American communities managed to successfully contribute to protection of nature within the USA.

Conclusion

Indigenous people’s commitment and will to protect not just their communities’ rights but also the environment should not be disregarded by the authorities not only in the United States but all around the world. The global society should cooperate to fight discrimination and injustice Indigenous people still face with.

[1] ‘Indigenous people’ (Amnesty International) <https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/indigenous-peoples/> accessed 30 March 2022.

[2] Sebastian Braun, ‘Indigenous World 2020: United States of America’ (The Indigenous World, 11 May 2020) <https://www.iwgia.org/en/usa/3640-iw-2020-united-states-of-america.htm > accessed 31 March 2022.

[3] Erin Blakemore, ‘Why Andrew Jackson’s Legacy Is So controversial’ (History, 30 April 2018) <https://www.history.com/news/andrew-jackson-presidency-controversial-legacy> accessed 24 October 2022.

[4] Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, ‘An Indigenous Peoples 'History of the United States’ (Beacon Press, 2015) <https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/indigenous-peoples-history-of-the-us/> accessed 31 March 2022.

[5] 'A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: The Allotment and Assimilation Era (1887 - 1934)’ (HUSL Library:) <https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/indigenous/allotment> accessed 31 March 2022.

[6] Ibid

[7] Ibid

[8] Melissa Mejia, ‘The U.S. history of Native American Boarding Schools’ (The Indigenous Foundation) <https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/us-residential-schools> accessed 24 October 2022.

[9] Congress enacts the Indian Citizenship Act, (History, 9 February 2010) <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-indian-citizenship-act> accessed 31 March 2022.

[10] Porter v. Hall, 34 Ariz. 308, 271 P. 411 (Ariz. 1928), <https://casetext.com/case/porter-v-hall> accessed 31 March 2022.

[11] ‘Voting Rights for Native Americans’ (Library of Congress) <https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/elections/right-to-vote/voting-rights-for-native-americans/> accessed 24 October 2022.

[12] ‘Voting Rights of 1965’ (History) <https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/voting-rights-act> accessed 31 March 2022.

[13] Jane Lawrence, ‘The Indian Health Service and the Sterilization of Native American Women’ (2000) Vol. 24, No.3 American Indian Quarterly pp 400-419 <https://daily.jstor.org/the-little-known-history-of-the-forced-sterilization-of-native-american-women/> accessed 31 March 2022.

[14] ‘American Indian Movement definition and history’ (Britannica) <https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Indian-Movement> accessed 24 October 2022.

[15] Lori S. Iacovelli, ‘American Indian Movement’ Britannica) <https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Indian-Movement> accessed 31 March 2022.

[16] ‘United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples’ (United Nations, 13 September 2007),

<https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/declaration-on-the-rights-of-indigenous-peoples.html> accessed 31 March 2022.

[17] IACHR, ‘American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ (15 June 2016)

<https://www.oas.org/en/sare/documents/DecAmIND.pdf> accessed 31 March 2022.

[18] ibid pp 3.

[19] ‘The Keystone XL Pipeline’ (NRDC, 1 November 2021) <https://www.nrdc.org/court-battles/keystone-xl-pipeline> accessed 31 March 2022.

[20] ‘The project Keystone XL pipeline project has been terminated’ (The New York Times, 9 June 2021) <https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/business/keystone-xl-pipeline-canceled.html> accessed 24 October 2022.