National Indian Association
The National Indian Association (NIA) was established in 1879 in Philadelphia by a group of Protestant women, initially functioning as the Women's National Indian Association. It emerged in the context of post-Civil War America, during a time when various reform movements aimed at addressing the rights and treatment of Indigenous Americans were gaining momentum. The NIA focused on advocating for the fair treatment of Indigenous peoples, emphasizing the need for educational improvements, citizenship rights, and adherence to treaty obligations by the U.S. government.
Over the years, the association expanded its influence by establishing eighty-three branches across the United States and publishing a monthly periodical titled *The Indian's Friend*. The NIA actively engaged with governmental bodies, including presenting petitions to Congress and participating in key conferences aimed at reforming U.S. Indian policy. Despite its efforts, the NIA faced challenges in impacting the government’s commitment to honoring treaties and ultimately contributed to policies like the General Allotment Act (Dawes Act), which had adverse effects on Indigenous communities. The organization disbanded in 1951 but played a notable role in the early advocacy for Indigenous rights and education.
National Indian Association
After the Civil War (1861–1865), a series of groups devoted to Indigenous American “reform” arose in the eastern United States. The events of 1876–1878, including General George Custer’s defeat in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, the Nez Perce escape attempt of 1877, and the Bannock War and the tragic Cheyenne escape attempt in 1878, led to the establishment of several influential organizations. Five of these became the core of the Friends of the Indian movement. One was the US government’s Board of Indian Commissioners, founded in 1869 and consisting of private citizens who served without pay. Two others, established in 1879, were the Boston Indian Citizenship Commission and the National Indian Association (formerly known as the Women's National Indian Association, or WNIA), established by a group of Protestant women in Philadelphia. The Indian Rights Association and the National Indian Defense Association followed in the early 1880s.
Between 1879 and 1886, the National Indian Association established eighty-three branches in cities nationwide. It published a monthly periodical, The Indian’s Friend, often presented petitions to Congress and the president protesting the mistreatment of Indigenous Americans, stridently pushed for reform of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and demanded that the US government follow the provisions of its treaties with American Indians with “scrupulous fidelity.” Its other major issues included improving education for Indigenous Americans (regarding the number and quality of schools), extending citizenship to all Indigenous Americans, and dividing American Indian lands into private homesteads for each family.
The association participated yearly in the Lake Mohonk Conference of the Friends of the Indian and the annual meeting of the Board of Indian Commissioners. These agencies shared responsibility for helping persuade the government to pass the General Allotment Act (Dawes Severalty Act), enacted in 1887, which subdivided the majority of Indian reservations into individual allotments. This act was ultimately disastrous for American Indians, as the National Indian Defense Association had feared. The National Indian Association was successful in increasing the number of schools available to American Indians. The association failed to influence the government’s honoring of treaties. In 1951, the association was dissolved.
Bibliography
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