Calvin Coolidge and the Indian Citizenship Act
There are a number of famous photographs of the normally reserved and formal President Calvin Coolidge dressed up in the long feathered head-dress of a Native American chief. Coolidge is remembered for his progressive policies towards Native Americans and especially for signing the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, the intention of which was to lawfully recognize the revised status of the indigenous people of United States from that of a conquered nation to enjoying the privileges of citizenship. While the Act still left much to be desired in the way of progress, and while no legislation can correct prejudicial attitudes and biases, Coolidge deserves credit for the progressive nature of his achievement for its time.
When the Constitution of the United States was written, Article One provided that "Indians not taxed" were not counted in assessing the population of a state for purposes of apportionment. The dreaded Dred Scott decision of 1857 elaborated on this issue, with Chief Justice Taney writing that the indigenous people "may without doubt, like the subjects of any foreign government, be naturalized by the authority of Congress and become citizens of a state and of the United States, and if an individual should leave his nation or tribe, and take up his abode among the white population, he would be entitled to all the rights and privileges which would belong to an emigrant from any other foreign people."
In 1868, the 14th Amendment of the constitution declared that all persons "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" were American citizens. However this clause was interpreted to exclude most Native Americans. In 1870, the Senate Judiciary committee declared that: "the 14th amendment to the Constitution has no effect whatever upon the status of the Indian tribes within the limits of the United States." What this meant was that only about eight percent of the Native American population in the country at that time qualified for U.S. citizenship because they had left their homes and had become taxpayers. Others obtained citizenship by serving in the military, by marrying white Americans or by accepting land allotments, such as those granted under the Dawes Act (a bill passed in 1887 that authorized the President to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Native Americans).
The exclusion of Native Americans from US citizenship was established by Elk v. Wilkins, a decision of the United States Supreme Court reported at 112 U.S. 94 (1884), in which the Court held that a Native person born a citizen of a recognized tribal nation was not born an American citizen and did not become one simply by voluntarily leaving his tribe and settling among white Americans. The court said that a Native person "who has not been naturalized, or taxed, or recognized as a citizen either by the United States or by the state, is not a citizen of the United States within the meaning of the first section of the Fourteenth Article of Amendment of the Constitution", essentially agreeing with what the Judiciary Committee had said earlier.
But in 1924, the Indian Citizenship Act, also known as the Snyder Act, was passed. It was sponsored by Republican Representative Homer P. Snyder of New York and it granted full U.S. citizenship to America's indigenous peoples, (still referred to as "Indians" at the time). The Indian Citizenship Act granted citizenship to about 125,000 of 300,000 indigenous people in the United States. The U.S. population at that time was less than 125 million. The Act did not include citizens born before the effective date of the 1924 act, or outside of the United States as an indigenous person, however, and it was not until the Nationality Act of 1940 that all persons born on U.S. soil were considered to be citizens.
Even those Native Americans who were granted citizenship rights under the 1924 Act did not obtain full citizenship and suffrage rights until 1948. Seven states still refused to grant these persons voting rights by 1938. Discrepancies between federal and state control presented problems with the Act’s enforcement. States justified discrimination based on state statutes and constitutions. Three main arguments for voting exclusion were: (1) exemption of these persons from paying real estate taxes; (2) maintenance of tribal affiliation; or (3) the notion that indigenous people were under guardianship, or lived on lands controlled by federal trusteeship. By 1947 all states with large indigenous populations, except Arizona and New Mexico, had extended voting rights to Native Americans who qualified under the 1924 Act. In 1948, these states withdrew their prohibition on Indian voting because of a judicial decision.
Coolidge signed the bill on June 2, 1924 at a ceremony attended by a number of men from the Osage first nation. He appointed what was known as "the Committee of One Hundred", a reform panel tasked with examining federal institutions and programs dealing with Indian nations. This committee recommended that the government conduct an in-depth investigation into reservation life and this was commissioned through the Department of Interior and conducted by the Brookings Institution, resulting in the groundbreaking Meriam Report of 1928.
Three years later, in August of 1927, Coolidge was awarded the honorary title of Chief Leading Eagle during a ceremony held in the Black Hills of South Dakota where Coolidge was vacationing. He is the only President to also be afforded this honor. A contemporary report in the Washington Post recorded:
"President Coolidge, accompanied by Mrs. Coolidge and their son John, was received by the Sioux Nation today, the largest assemblage of Indians since 1875. It was a great sight to see these Indians all dressed in feathered costumes, and probably was one of the greatest thrills of young John’s life."
A silent film of the event is used as part of the permanent exhibit in the President Calvin Coolidge Museum and Education Center. Coolidge is seen wearing a Native American headdress. A parade was held, following which, Coolidge was presented with a variety of handmade items including moccasins, a tomahawk, a "peace pipe", a beaded carrying bag, and the feathered headdress he was photographed in. These gifts were kept by the Coolidge family and eventually donated to the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts.
When the Constitution of the United States was written, Article One provided that "Indians not taxed" were not counted in assessing the population of a state for purposes of apportionment. The dreaded Dred Scott decision of 1857 elaborated on this issue, with Chief Justice Taney writing that the indigenous people "may without doubt, like the subjects of any foreign government, be naturalized by the authority of Congress and become citizens of a state and of the United States, and if an individual should leave his nation or tribe, and take up his abode among the white population, he would be entitled to all the rights and privileges which would belong to an emigrant from any other foreign people."
In 1868, the 14th Amendment of the constitution declared that all persons "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" were American citizens. However this clause was interpreted to exclude most Native Americans. In 1870, the Senate Judiciary committee declared that: "the 14th amendment to the Constitution has no effect whatever upon the status of the Indian tribes within the limits of the United States." What this meant was that only about eight percent of the Native American population in the country at that time qualified for U.S. citizenship because they had left their homes and had become taxpayers. Others obtained citizenship by serving in the military, by marrying white Americans or by accepting land allotments, such as those granted under the Dawes Act (a bill passed in 1887 that authorized the President to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Native Americans).
The exclusion of Native Americans from US citizenship was established by Elk v. Wilkins, a decision of the United States Supreme Court reported at 112 U.S. 94 (1884), in which the Court held that a Native person born a citizen of a recognized tribal nation was not born an American citizen and did not become one simply by voluntarily leaving his tribe and settling among white Americans. The court said that a Native person "who has not been naturalized, or taxed, or recognized as a citizen either by the United States or by the state, is not a citizen of the United States within the meaning of the first section of the Fourteenth Article of Amendment of the Constitution", essentially agreeing with what the Judiciary Committee had said earlier.
But in 1924, the Indian Citizenship Act, also known as the Snyder Act, was passed. It was sponsored by Republican Representative Homer P. Snyder of New York and it granted full U.S. citizenship to America's indigenous peoples, (still referred to as "Indians" at the time). The Indian Citizenship Act granted citizenship to about 125,000 of 300,000 indigenous people in the United States. The U.S. population at that time was less than 125 million. The Act did not include citizens born before the effective date of the 1924 act, or outside of the United States as an indigenous person, however, and it was not until the Nationality Act of 1940 that all persons born on U.S. soil were considered to be citizens.
Even those Native Americans who were granted citizenship rights under the 1924 Act did not obtain full citizenship and suffrage rights until 1948. Seven states still refused to grant these persons voting rights by 1938. Discrepancies between federal and state control presented problems with the Act’s enforcement. States justified discrimination based on state statutes and constitutions. Three main arguments for voting exclusion were: (1) exemption of these persons from paying real estate taxes; (2) maintenance of tribal affiliation; or (3) the notion that indigenous people were under guardianship, or lived on lands controlled by federal trusteeship. By 1947 all states with large indigenous populations, except Arizona and New Mexico, had extended voting rights to Native Americans who qualified under the 1924 Act. In 1948, these states withdrew their prohibition on Indian voting because of a judicial decision.
Coolidge signed the bill on June 2, 1924 at a ceremony attended by a number of men from the Osage first nation. He appointed what was known as "the Committee of One Hundred", a reform panel tasked with examining federal institutions and programs dealing with Indian nations. This committee recommended that the government conduct an in-depth investigation into reservation life and this was commissioned through the Department of Interior and conducted by the Brookings Institution, resulting in the groundbreaking Meriam Report of 1928.
Three years later, in August of 1927, Coolidge was awarded the honorary title of Chief Leading Eagle during a ceremony held in the Black Hills of South Dakota where Coolidge was vacationing. He is the only President to also be afforded this honor. A contemporary report in the Washington Post recorded:
"President Coolidge, accompanied by Mrs. Coolidge and their son John, was received by the Sioux Nation today, the largest assemblage of Indians since 1875. It was a great sight to see these Indians all dressed in feathered costumes, and probably was one of the greatest thrills of young John’s life."
A silent film of the event is used as part of the permanent exhibit in the President Calvin Coolidge Museum and Education Center. Coolidge is seen wearing a Native American headdress. A parade was held, following which, Coolidge was presented with a variety of handmade items including moccasins, a tomahawk, a "peace pipe", a beaded carrying bag, and the feathered headdress he was photographed in. These gifts were kept by the Coolidge family and eventually donated to the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts.