US Government Documents related to Indigenous Nations

Authors

Hiram Price

Committee

Department of the Interior and Office of Indian Affairs

Congress

47th Congress, 2d Session

Files

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Description

This transcribed document, dated March 30, 1883, contains a letter from Henry M. Teller of the United States (US) Department of the Interior to Hiram Price of the US Office of Indian Affairs outlining perceived problems among Indigenous tribes in the US. This letter is followed by a set of rules written in response to the expressed concerns. These rules are commonly referred to as The Code of Indian Offenses. Teller expressed concern about religious practices among Indigenous tribes, including sacred dances and the leadership of medicine men. He was also concerned about plural marriage and practices surrounding property ownership. He felt that traditional practices were a hinderance to the “civilization” of Indigenous people and that something needed to be done to curb these practices. Hiram Price wrote The Code of Indian Offenses to address these concerns, outlining specific offenses that correlated to Teller’s concerns. Punishment for these offenses included, withholding of rations, hard labor, fines, and jail time. The practice of outlawing religious practices among Indigenous people in the United States legally persisted until 1978 when the US Congress passed American Indian Religious Freedom also known as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (sometimes abbreviated AIRFA).

Publication Date

3-30-1883

Keywords

Code of Indian Offenses, religious practices, plural marriage, property ownership, medicine men, civilization

Organizations Referenced

Department of the Interior, Office of Indian Affairs

People Referenced

Henry M. Teller, Hiram Price

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

Price, Hiram. Rules Governing The Court of Indian Offenses. March 30, 1883. https://commons.und.edu/indigenous-gov-docs/131/.

Rules Governing the Court of Indian Offenses

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