Report Of Special Committee To Investigate The Indian Problem Of The State Of New York

The New Deal era changed Iroquois Indian existence. The time between the world wars proved a watershed in the history of Indian white relations, during which some of the most far-reaching legislation in Indian history was passed, including the Indian Reorganizat1on Act. Until recently, scholars have acclaimed the 1930s as a model of Indian administration, praising the work of John Collier, then comm1ss1oner of Indian affairs. Among the Indians, however, a less-than-beneficial heritage remains from th1s era. To many of today's Native Americans these were years of increased discord and factionalism marked by non-Indian tampering with existing tribal political systems. Whenever the government directly intervened in Iroquois tribal affairs—or arbitrarily imposed uniform legislation from distant Washington—the Indians' New Deal suffered. It succeeded only when the government worked slowly to cultivate the backing of prominent leaders and achieved community-based support. Nonetheless, government programs stimulated a flowering of Iroquois culture, both in art and in language, and new Indian leadership emerged as a result of, or in reaction to, government policies. Laurence Hauptman argues that overall the work of the New Deal in Iroquoia should be seen as having done more good than harm.

This is the first descriptive analysis of how American Indian policies are made both at the statewide and at agency levels. Pertinent to all states, the study describes New York's historic policies and emphasizes that improving Indian lifestyles or attracting Indians to government employment is handicapped by their overall distrust of state intentions, a distrust caused by the continued impasse on American Indian land claims. Employing archival records never before used, as well as a plethora of interviews with state officials and American Indians over a fifteen-year period, Hauptman concludes that critical policy changes are needed to build lasting trust.