US Government Documents related to Indigenous Nations
Congress
73d Congress, 2d Session
Files
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Description
This United States (US) public law, also known as the Indian Reorganization Act, the Wheeler-Howard Act, or the Indian New Deal, passed on June 18, 1934 in response to the Meriam Report which revealed immense poverty and poor living conditions among Indigenous People on reservations. The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) aimed to alleviate these conditions with several corrective measures, notably by stopping the allotment of reservation land and by allowing tribes to organize under their own tribal governments. The IRA was heavily influenced by the recommendations contained in the Meriam Report. While this public law aimed to reduce poverty on reservations and to loosen federal governance on Indigenous tribes, the Great Depression made it difficult to allocate enough funding to fully address the dire economic situation on most reservations and the tribal adoption of US-style constitutions created internal tension for some tribes.
Publication Date
6-18-1934
Keywords
Indian Reorganization Act, IRA, Wheeler-Howard Act, Indian New Deal, Meriam Report, reservations, allotment, poverty, tribal reorganization, tribal self-governance, tribal constitutions, Great Depression
Organizations Referenced
Department of the Interior
Publisher
Government Printing Office
Disciplines
American Politics | Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law | Indigenous Studies | Law and Politics | Native American Studies | United States History
Recommended Citation
An Act to Conserve and Develop Indian Lands and Resources; to Extend to Indians the Right to Form Business and Other Organizations; to Establish a Credit System for Indians; to Grant Certain Rights of Home Rule to Indians; to Provide for Vocational Education for Indians, and for Other Purposes. Public Law 383. US Statues at Large 48, (1934): 984-988. https://commons.und.edu/indigenous-gov-docs/126/.
Included in
American Politics Commons, Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law Commons, Indigenous Studies Commons, Law and Politics Commons, Native American Studies Commons, United States History Commons
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