American Indian Defense Association (AIDA)
The American Indian Defense Association (AIDA) was established in May 1923 in New York City by a group of white reformers who sought to advocate for the rights and welfare of Native Americans. Led by John Collier, AIDA aimed to protect Indian land and culture, contesting the detrimental effects of the General Allotment Act of 1887 and promoting the integrity of tribal governments. The organization focused on preserving Native American culture, advocating for social and religious freedoms, and securing civil liberties for Indigenous peoples. AIDA’s activities included lobbying for federal assistance, reforming the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and publishing materials to raise awareness about Indian issues. By the end of its first decade, AIDA had grown to over 1,700 members and had established branches across the United States. Following Franklin D. Roosevelt's election in 1932, Collier became a key figure in the Indian New Deal, leading to the passage of the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934. In 1936, AIDA merged with the National Association on Indian Affairs to form the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA), which continues to support Native American communities today through various initiatives in education, health, and cultural preservation.
American Indian Defense Association (AIDA)
The American Indian Defense Association (AIDA) was organized in New York City in May, 1923, by white reformers sympathetic to Indian causes. The organization, led by John Collier, AIDA’s founder and first executive secretary, consisted primarily of wealthy, liberal Californians who joined hands in opposition to a proposed bill addressing land disputes in the Northwest that might have resulted in the loss of Pueblo lands. Members of AIDA were critical of the General Allotment Act of 1887, pleading for the maintenance of Indian tribal integrity.
In 1922, Collier explicitly stated AIDA’s goals. The association was to aid in the preservation of Indian culture, including the revitalization of Indian arts and crafts. It sought to entitle Indians to social and religious freedoms and to rejuvenate tribal governments. Provisions were also made for safeguarding Indian civil liberties. Furthermore, Indians were to be entitled to federal aid in the form of Farm Loan Bank credits, public health services, and other federal assistance programs. To break its monopoly over Indian programs, Collier suggested reform of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Through congressional lobbying, publication of pamphlets, and advice to Indian tribes, Collier and AIDA labored to influence federal Indian policy and to improve conditions on reservations.
In its first decade, AIDA grew to more than seventeen hundred members. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the organization maintained branches in cities throughout the country. During the 1920s, Collier became the nation’s leading advocate of Indian rights. After Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, Collier became a candidate for the post of commissioner in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Despite Collier’s Communist sympathies and confrontational nature, Roosevelt appointed him commissioner in 1933. Collier initiated an Indian New Deal whereby governmental Indian policy shifted away from assimilation and toward tribal revitalization. Collier’s culminating triumph was passage in 1934 of the Indian Reorganization Act, the heart of the Indian New Deal. AIDA consistently supported Collier and the Indian New Deal, although the association was frequently critical of its application.
In 1936, AIDA merged with the National Association on Indian Affairs, becoming the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA). The AAIA continued operating as a nonprofit into the twenty-first century, providing legal and technical assistance in health, education, economic development, the administration of justice and resource utilization to United States tribes. In addition, the organization offered scholarships to Native students, worked to preserve vanishing tribal languages, published the newsletter Indian Affairs, and occasionally published books.
Bibliography
"About Us." Association on American Indian Affairs. Association on American Indian Affairs, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2015.
Fixico, Donald L. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.
Fixico, Donald L. Indian Resilience and Rebuilding: Indigenous Nations in the Modern West. Tucson: U of Arizona P, 2013. Print.
Genetin-Pilawa, C. Joseph. Crooked Paths to Allotment: The Fight over Federal Indian Policy after the Civil War. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 2012. Print.