By Natasha Bitsui Indian Country Indian Country Encompasses
By: Natasha Bitsui Indian Country
Indian Country �Encompasses reservations �It includes all land within the limits of an Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States government �All dependent Indian communities �All Indian allotments still in trust, whether they are located within reservations or not
Indian Country �Congress enacted the General Allotment Act of 1887 �Purposes of Dawes Act: Break up tribal governments, abolish the reservations and to civilize the Native peoples To accomplish this goal, congress decided to divide tribal lands into individual parcels, gives each tribal member a parcel, and sell the “surplus” parcels to non-Indian farmers.
Indian Country �Title to the land remained in the United States in trust for 25 years or longer if it was extended by the President �The trust period was suppose to protect the allottees from immediate state taxation and to allow an opportunity to learn farming �When the allotments were received the allottees became U. S. citizens and were subject to state criminal and civil law
Indian Country �The Dawes Act was believed to help the Indians but its effect on Indians and Indian land was catastrophic. Most Indians did not want to abandon their culture �Because much of the lands that were allotted to the Indians were not suitable for small-scale farming, Indians had to sell their parcels to settlers or lost land in tax foreclosure
Indian Country �Three basic land holdings in Indian Country Tribal trust lands=largest category of Indian land, are held in trust by the U. S. Government for the use of a tribe Allotted trust lands=are held in trust for the use of individual Indians Fee lands=are held by an owner, whether Indian or not
Indian Country �http: //tribaljurisdiction. tripod. com/id 7. html �Definitions of “Indian Country” (online reading)
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