In 1943 the United States Senate conducted a survey of Indian life. They found that the conditions in which Indian people were living were deplorable. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was found to be at fault through mismanagement. As such, the United States Government adopted a policy of termination in 1953 to eliminate Native American Tribes and assimilate Native Americans into American society. The policy ended the U.S. Government’s acknowledgment of the sovereignty of tribes; American Indians became subject to federal and state laws as well as taxes, which they were not previously.

 

Congress stated that the goal was to “as rapidly as possible to make Indians within the territorial limits of the United States subject to the same laws and entitled to the same privileges and responsibilities as are applicable to other citizens of the United States.”(House Concurrent Resolution 108). From 1953 to 1964 110 tribes were terminated which meant that approximately 2,500,000 acres of land was removed from its protected status and sold to non-natives. Over 12,000 Indians lost their tribal affiliation.

 

Termination had disastrous effects on the people. Education suffered greatly, seeing a nearly 75% dropout rate. Tribes lost funding for schools and had to shut them down. When the children went to local public schools, they were ostracized and ridiculed.

 

Health care was also affected by the termination policy. Previously, Indian Health service provided care to many Indians but tribes were no longer eligible once terminated. Most tribal health centers closed and many people did not live close to county health clinic, though even if they had, most could not afford care.

 

The Termination policy was not repealed until 1970. Ada Deer of the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin was instrumental in not only having the Termination policy overturned but also regaining federal recognition of the Menominee tribe. With the help of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) she led the charge toward reparation for her people which happened on December 22, 1973 when President Nixon signed the Menominee Restoration Act into law. Only very few of the tribes who were terminated regained recognition.

 

Richard Nixon believed in tribal self-determination. He said “It is long past time that the Indian policies of the Federal government began to recognize and build upon the capacities and insights of the Indian people. Both as a matter of Justice and as a matter of enlightened social policy, we must begin to act on the basis of what the Indians themselves have long been telling us. The time has come to break decisively with the past and to create the conditions for a new era in which the Indian future is determined by Indian acts and Indian decisions.” By saying this, Nixon went back on the position of all other United States leaders the preceded him. He believed that Indian issues should be handled by Indians as they knew, better than anyone else, what is best for their people.