Termination and Relocation Policies

Termination and Relocation Policies

The American society understands the repercussions of the termination and relocation policies of the federal government but seems to stagnate in redressing the issue. It is challenging to develop a policy that resolves the issue of Native American status and identity. Native Americans suffered tremendously under the actions of white Americans, but paternalism shaped the federal Indian Policy (Townsend, 2018). Their reactions towards federal policies, Americans’ actions, and the changes in economy, society, and politics in the 20^th century were diverse and troublesome. More so, tensions and crosscurrents are visible in the Indian New Deal and the termination policy that replaced it in the 1950s (Townsend, 2018). Therefore, the natives’ history of the mid-twentieth era was not just a narrative of good and evil but raised significant concerns about the status of these indigenous people in modern American society.

I believe that if the nation does not enact changes that genuinely serve the interests of the natives, the US will succumb to repeating disastrous policy decisions. For instance, the new approach by John Collier presumed the indigenous society gave life and respect to the environment, which could have taught white Americans about their materialistic nature (Townsend, 2018). He was resolute in preserving the traditional Indian cultural life by ensuring that the native reservations were their permanent homeland. In 1934, the government passed a new policy, the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), that ended the sale of reserved land and allotment policy. It also mandated that lands not yet sold be returned to the natives’ control (Townsend, 2018). Furthermore, the act granted native societies a measure of administrative and judicial independence. This policy had a genuine interest in the Indians and attempted to establish their status in the US. This historical narrative demonstrates how possible it is for the government and society to turn the tide in favor of the Indigenous people. It can be accomplished by rectifying the injustices, restoring their status, and protecting their rights as fellow white Americans.

References

Townsend, K. (2018). First Americans: A History of Native Peoples, Combined Volume: A History of Native Peoples, PowerPoints. Routledge.

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Termination and Relocation Policies

Like the reform efforts of the late 19th century, the termination and relocation policies of the federal government in the middle decades of the 20th Century quickly came to ruin, floundering on the same cultural blindness that seems to have been a constant on the part of white Americans for more than three centuries.

Given what you have learned in this course over the past seven weeks, are you convinced that white Americans have finally learned from their past follies, or are we, as a society and a government, doomed to repeat our disastrous policy choices with regard to Native Americans?

In composing your thoughtful, well-researched post, consider the Saint Leo Core Value of Responsible Stewardship, replacing, of course, the University and the general community with Native Americans.

I have included the course textbook if needed.