Forced patenting
Forced patenting refers to a historical process in which Indigenous Americans were compelled to relinquish their landholdings under U.S. policies, particularly following the General Allotment Act of 1887. This act aimed to assimilate Indigenous peoples into American society by granting them land in exchange for citizenship, but it also facilitated the potential loss of their land. The Burke Act of 1906 allowed the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to determine the "competency" of Native Americans, leading to the release of many from federal protections. This process intensified during the New Policy initiated in 1913, which deemed a significant number of Indigenous individuals competent to manage their affairs. As a result, many were subject to property taxes and faced the risk of losing their lands due to financial hardships. From 1917 to 1921, over twenty-one thousand Indigenous Americans lost their land, often selling it at diminished values due to immediate economic pressures. This period highlights the complexities of Indigenous land rights and government policies aimed at assimilation, with long-lasting impacts on Native communities.
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Forced patenting
- TRIBES AFFECTED: Pantribal
SIGNIFICANCE: Thousands of American Indians lost their land as federal protection was removed and they were left to fend for themselves
Under provisions of the General Allotment Act of 1887 (the Dawes Act), Indigenous Americans could become American citizens after living on land granted to them by the federal government for twenty-five years. Until that time elapsed, the land would be held in trust by the government, but then, Indigenous American owners could do whatever they wanted with it. Government officials hoped Indigenous Americans would use this time to learn about farming, but since few Indigenous Americans actually became farmers, they were allowed to lease their property to others beginning in 1891. At least some income could be gained from leasing. In 1906, Congress added an amendment further expanding Indigenous American control of their lands by giving the secretary of the interior power to release Native Americans from the twenty-five-year time period for full citizenship rights, but only if they showed that they were “competent” to handle their own affairs. Agents at the Bureau of Indian Affairs would judge competency. This amendment, formerly called the General Allotment Act Amendment of 1906, was called the Burke Act or the Forced Fee Patenting Act.
In 1913, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Cato Sells used this power to launch a “New Policy” aimed at ending Indigenous American dependency on the government and speeding the process of assimilation into American society. Under the New Policy, all American adults who were one-half or less Indigenous would be automatically considered competent, as would all Native American students, aged twenty-one or over, who had diplomas from government schools. This meant that nearly all restrictions on selling land would be removed but also that local property taxes would have to be paid. The results were disastrous, as more than twenty-one thousand Indigenous Americans were released from federal protection between 1917 and 1921 under the patent system but lost their land for failure to pay state taxes. Others sold their land to White individuals at outrageously low prices because money was more useful to them than land. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, under a new commissioner, called a halt to this program in 1921.
Bibliography
"Dawes Act (1887)." Oklahoma Historical Society, www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=BU010. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
"Dawes Act (1887)." US National Archives and Records Administration, 8 Feb. 2022, www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dawes-act. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
DeSimone, Bailey. "From the Serial Set: Citizenship and Suffrage for Native Americans." Library of Congress, 25 Dec. 2020, blogs.loc.gov/law/2020/09/from-the-serial-set-citizenship-and-suffrage-for-native-americans. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.