DZ
DefZone.Net

Kien thuc cong nghe & giai tri

Wiki Article

Indian agent

Nguồn dữ liệu từ Wikipedia, hiển thị bởi DefZone.Net

Xem trên WikipediaBài ngẫu nhiên khác
For the similar role in Canada, see Indian agent (Canada). For the 1948 film, see Indian Agent (film).

Indian agents of the U.S. government in 1813

In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with American Indian tribes on behalf of the U.S. government. Fostering harmful relationships and power dynamics between Indian agents and Native Americans, especially Native women.These relationships continue to have ongoing effects on Native communities today.

Agents established in Nonintercourse Act of 1793

[edit]

The federal regulation of Indian affairs in the United States first included development of the position of Indian agent in the Nonintercourse Act of 1793, a revision of the original 1790 law. This required land sales by or from Indians to be federally licensed and permitted. The legislation also authorized the President to "appoint such persons, from time to time, as temporary agents to reside among the Indians," and guide them into acculturation of American society by changing their agricultural practices and domestic activities.[1]: 58  As well as aimed at regulating trade and relations between Native Americans and European American settlers.[2] Eventually, the U.S. government ceased using the word "temporary" in the Indian agent's job title.

Changing role of Indian Agents, 1800–1840s

[edit]

From the close of the 18th century to nearly 1869, Congress maintained the position that it was legally responsible for the protection of Indians from non-Indians, and in establishing this responsibility it "continue[d] to deal with Indian tribes by utilizing agents to negotiate treaties under the jurisdiction of the Department of War."[3] As a practical matter, especially in early days, Indian agents also "served as spies, on the lookout for tribal interaction with representatives of foreign governments."[4]: 166 

  • Initially, and before the reforms of the late 19th century, an Indian agent's average duties were as follows:
    • Work toward preventing conflicts between settlers and Indians
    • "He was to keep an eye out for violations of intercourse laws[further explanation needed][5] and to report them [violations] to superintendents"[1]: 61 
    • Maintain flexible cooperation with U.S. Army military personnel
    • See to the proper distribution of annuities granted by the state or federal government to various Indian tribes; and this usually occurred through a transfer of money or goods from the Indian agent to the respective chief which would then be distributed to the tribe, although this practice went into decline by the mid-1800s
    • See to the successful removal of tribes from areas procured for settlement to reservations

In the 1830s, the primary role of Indian agents was to assist in commercial trading supervision between traders and Indians, while agents possessed the authority to both issue and revoke commercial trading licenses.

In 1849, the Bureau of Indian Affairs decided to place the position of Indian agent under civilian jurisdiction. This came at a time when many white Americans saw the role of Indian agent as largely inefficient and dishonest in monetary and severalty dealings with various Indian tribes.[6]: 405 American legal historians Paul Finkelman and Tim Alan Garrison say that the Bureau of Indian Affairs faced many “accusations of dishonesty and mismanagement”.[7]

Mid-late 19th century

[edit]

By 1850, many citizens had been calling for reform of the agents in the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Their wish had been granted when in 1869 the bureau created the civilian-controlled Board of Indian Commissioners. The board "never more deeply felt, that Indian agents should be appointed solely for merit and fitness for their work ... and should be retained in the service when they prove themselves to be efficient and helpful by their character and moral influence."[1]: 251  This civilian run board was charged "with responsibility for supervising the disbursement of Indian appropriations" from state and federal governments.[6]: 406  However, the United States Army command was extremely dissatisfied of the transfer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from the Department of War to the Department of the Interior by 1849, so they began to make public complaints about the corruptive nature of the civilian presence in the job of Indian agent.[8] Despite its deeply felt convictions that its Indian agents were appointed and removed on merit, the civilian Board of Commissioners was frequently deemed corrupt, portrayed derogatorily in print and propaganda, and inadvertently assumed the scapegoat for the perceived inefficiency of Indian-White affairs: the Indian agent.

By the late 19th century, the job title of Indian agent began to change slightly in the wake of the recent attempts to 'civilize' Indians, assimilating them into American culture. Despite the public scorn for the agents, the Indian Office stated that the "chief duty of an agent is to induce his Indian to labor in civilized pursuits. To attain this end every possible influence should be brought to bear, and in proportion as it is attained ... an agent is successful or unsuccessful."[1]: 218 

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Indian agents served as a link between the U.S. government and Native families. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition states that “Indian children were forcibly abducted by government agents”[9], referring to the Indian agent. Specifically Indian agents took on the responsibility of identifying, registering, and forcibly removing children from their homes to attend boarding schools. These boarding schools were specifically designed to take children away from their Native lifestyles and instead promote assimilation into Euro-American society American Indian boarding schools .Leech Lake Ojibwe geography Deondre Smiles notes that Indigenous children “were taken from their families and communities and sent to boarding schools far from their homes, where they were trained to adopt settler customs”.[10] There students were given industrial training and encouraged to permanently abandon their languages, cultural practices and community ties.

General conditions across Indian boarding schools were harsh, directly reflecting the kind of coercive environment made by the assimilation system. The Washington Post conducted a year-long investigation revealing at least 3,104 Native American children died at boarding schools between the years 1828 and 1970, this is around three times the number previously recognized by the U.S. government. Students at these boarding schools faced extreme punishments, forced labor, disease, malnutrition, and overcrowding. Over 800 children were buried in cemeteries at or near these schools, most often without their bodies ever being returned to their families or tribes.[11]

Many families still tried to keep an emotional and cultural connection with their children, regardless of the enforced separation by federal boarding school policies. Ojibwe historian Brenda J. Child, notes, “Parents and relatives wrote letters to their children at school, urging them to remember their families and communities and expressing concern for their wellbeing”.[12]

Violence Against Native Women

[edit]

Throughout the 19th century, Indian agents and Native women had unequal relationships fostered by unequal gender and power dynamics that enabled abuse. Indian agents used their federal authority to utilize extensive control over resources, legal matters, and daily affairs. Native women already marginalized by colonial structures and patriarchal norms, were then put into positions of even more vulnerability. This kind of imbalance only encouraged Indian agents to exploit their federal authority and rarely faced any accountability, strengthening a system that limited Native women's means of resistance and protection.[13]

The power imbalance heavily influenced by gender played a significant role in enabling systems of coercion and sexual violence. Public Health researcher Robin Wyatt explains that “violence against Native women became a central element in the colonial strategy for conquest and genocide…women were targeted due to their ability to sustain tribes”.[14] Abuse towards Native women were not unique incidents but a part of this much larger colonial structure that normalized violence towards Native women. Wyatt also notes “86 to 96 percent of the sexual abuse of Native women is committed by non-Indigenous perpetrators who are really brough to justice”.[14]

These abusive relationships were supported and allowed to continue by racial, gendered, and institutional rankings that worked together to not only protect the perpetrators Wyatt mentioned but also worked at silencing survivors. Indigenous health researchers Karina L. Walter, Jane M. Simoni, and Karina Lehavot explain that “systematic failings have contributed to indifference and resignation to colonial violence in the everyday lives of Native women…to steadily erode Native women's sense of agency in combating justice”.[15]

By the 1870s, due to president Grant's Peace Policy, the average Indian agent was primarily nominated by various Christian denominations due to the increase in civilization reforms to Indian-white affairs, especially over land.[16] Part of the Christian message of reform, carried out by the Indian agents, demonstrated the pervasive thought of Indian land ownership of the late 19th century: civilization can only be possible when Indians cease communal living in favor of private ownership. Many citizens still held the activities of Indian agents in poor esteem, calling the agents themselves "unprincipled opportunists" and people of low quality.[6]: 409 

  • In the 1880 Instruction to Indian Agents, it states the job duties of the Indian agent as follows:
    • See that Indians in one's designated locality are not "idle for want of an opportunity to labor or of instructions as to how to go to work," and
    • absolutely "no work must be given to white men which can be done by Indians"[1]: 293 
    • See to it that the Indians under one's jurisdiction can farm successfully and solely for the subsistence of their respective family
    • Enforce prohibition of liquor
    • Both provide and supervise the instruction of English education and industrial training for Indian children
    • Allow Indians to leave the reservation only if they have acquired a permit for such (permits were only irregularly granted)
    • As of July 1884, Indian agents were to compile an annual report of their reservations for submission aimed at collecting the following information from Indian respondents: Indian name, English name, Relationship, Sex, and Name among other statistical information.[17]

Abolition of the Indian Agent

[edit]

When Theodore Roosevelt reached the presidency at the turn of the 20th century (1901–1909), the Indian agents that remained on the government payroll were all replaced by school superintendents.[1]: 257 

The post was officially abolished in 1908 by the commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis Leupp. History scholar David Wishart states that Leupp believed doctors and teachers would be more successful at encouraging assimilation.[18] The program was phased out and the last Indian agent was removed from their post in 1969.[19] Although the position had been abolished, Native women still faced abuse from  superintendents. In 1925, Ruth Muskrat Bronson a Cherokee Nation poet and Indian right activist, wrote “The Serpent,” which focuses on an Indian superintendent sexually assaulting generations of young women. The story shows how Native women still endured coercion and abuse from those in higher positions, despite their Indian agent title being removed. Bronson writes “the Indian agent was sprawled on the ground…fastened around his wrists with a grip he could not claw free was a little yellow snake…the old Cherokee woman sat, still motionless and without expression”.[20] Native communities developed diverse strategies to resistance against Indian agent control, as they fought to protect themselves and preserve their culture.

The end of the Indian Agent system posed many changes for Native communities. Bands could now elect their own chiefs and administer their own services such as education, housing, and water treatment. Most importantly, the abolition of Indian agents meant that the citizens of the Native communities once assigned to these Indian agents would no longer be victims of maltreatment, bias, and surveillance by an Indian Agent.[19]

[edit]

Despite the abolition of the Indian Agent role, these abusive patterns towards Native American women still persist. Mvskoke Nation law scholar Sarah Deer states that “The crisis of rape in tribal communities is inextricably linked to the way in which the United States developed and sustained a legal system”.[21] Native women still experience disproportionately high levels of violence not seen by any other group in the United States. According to sociologists Tassy Parker (Seneca Nation), Allyson Kelley, Lee Redeye, and Marcello A. Maviglia, “more than 84 percent of Native women experience some form of violence in their lifetime, the highest rate of any demographic group in the country”.[22] The homicide rates for Native women are also 2.8 times higher compared to those of white women, in some areas these statistics can be ten times higher than the national average. Similar to colonial times, 96 percent of perpetrators are non-Native.[22]

This extent of widespread violence has serious lasting health consequences, though Native women are often unable to receive proper medical attention and care. Domestic violence increases rates of physical injury, missing work or school, and results in long term mental health illnesses such as depression and post traumatic stress disorder. These are only made worse by the underfunding experienced by healthcare services in Native communities. Federal funding aimed to serve victims of crime have often excluded tribes from this aid. This lack of support and healthcare infrastructure means the mental and physical abuse endured by Native people are often untreated, only reinforcing their trauma and vulnerability.[22]

In response to these issues there has been a number of policy efforts and grassroot movements that push for change. Specifically, advocacy efforts like the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement raised awareness and demanded accountability from prosecutors. There have also been Legislative improvements like the Not Invisible Act of 2019 that aimed to improve communication between tribal, federal, and state authorities, in hopes of eliminating any gaps that hindered justice. Parker, Kelly, Redeye, and Maviglia recommend broader structural reforms that address equitable funding, culturally informed funding, and research, and policies that specifically address the root causes of this violence. According to Parker, Kelley, Redeye, and Maviglia, these policy efforts and movements can work together to address and reduce violence against Native women. [22]

Notable Indian agents

[edit]
Bust of Benjamin Hawkins

Individuals who have served as Indian agents include the following:

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Prucha, Francis Paul (1984). The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
  2. ^ "Trade and Intercourse Acts | History | Research Starters | EBSCO Research". EBSCO. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  3. ^ Brown, Shana. "Outline of Indian Affairs" (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved December 11, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnett, James F. (April 4, 2012). "1801–1837: Treaties and Removal". Mississippi's American Indians. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 164–207. doi:10.14325/mississippi/9781617032455.003.0007. ISBN 978-1-61703-245-5.
  5. ^ "Congress passes the first Indian Trade and Intercourse Act | ENRD | Department of Justice". Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Unrau, William E. (October 1972). "The Civilian as Indian Agent: Villain or Victim?". Western Historical Quarterly. 3 (4): 405–420. doi:10.2307/966865. JSTOR 966865.
  7. ^ Finkelman, Paul; Garrison, Tim (2009). Encyclopedia of United States Indian Policy and Law. 2300 N Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington DC 20037 United States: CQ Press. doi:10.4135/9781604265767. ISBN 978-1-933116-98-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  8. ^ Chaput, Donald (July 1972). "Generals, Indian Agents, Politicians: The Doolittle Survey of 1865". Western Historical Quarterly. 3 (3): 269–282. doi:10.2307/967424. JSTOR 967424.
  9. ^ "US Indian Boarding School History – NABS". Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  10. ^ "Erasing Indigenous History, Then and Now | Origins". origins.osu.edu. September 19, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  11. ^ "More than 3,100 students died at schools built to crush Native American cultures". Washington Post. December 22, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  12. ^ Child, Brenda (1900–1940). Boarding Schools Seasons: American Indian Families. University of Nebraska Press.
  13. ^ Simpson, Angeline Cheek, Lucy (October 18, 2021). "We Need Accountability for Those Who Commit Violence Against Native Women | ACLU". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved May 6, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ a b "The Colonial Roots of Violence Against Native American Women". Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. March 13, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  15. ^ Lehavot, Keren; Walters, Karina L.; Simoni, Jane M. (July 2009). "Abuse, mastery, and health among lesbian, bisexual, and two-spirit American Indian and Alaska Native women". Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology. 15 (3): 275–284. doi:10.1037/a0013458. ISSN 1099-9809. PMC 4059821. PMID 19594256.
  16. ^ Castile, George P. (April 1981). "Edwin Eells, U.S. Indian Agent, 1871-1895". The Pacific Northwest Quarterly. 72 (2): 62. JSTOR 40490672.
  17. ^ National Archives (August 15, 2016). "Indian Census Roles, 1885-1940". Legal and Administrative Background: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
  18. ^ "INDIAN AGENTS | Encyclopedia of the Great Plains". plainshumanities.unl.edu. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  19. ^ a b "Last Indian Agent Removed | Gladue Rights Research Database". gladue.usask.ca. Retrieved May 6, 2026.
  20. ^ Bronson, Ruth (1925). The Serpent. Vol. Mount Holyoke Monthly. p. 163.
  21. ^ Deer, Sarah (2015). The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America.
  22. ^ a b c d Parker, Tassy; Kelley, Allyson; Redeye, Lee; Maviglia, Marcello A. (December 2024). "Domestic violence in American Indian and Alaska Native populations: a new framework for policy change and addressing the structural determinants of health". Lancet Regional Health. Americas. 40 100933. doi:10.1016/j.lana.2024.100933. ISSN 2667-193X. PMC 11570978. PMID 39559698.
  23. ^ "The Life of Kit Carson, Hunter, Trapper, Guide, Indian Agent, and Colonel U.S.A." By Edward Sylvester Ellis, 1899 G.M. Hill
  24. ^ a b "Timeline of events connected to Choctaw Removal - The Papers of Andrew Jackson". February 5, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  25. ^ "Benjamin Hawkins, Indian Agent" By Merritt B. Pound, 2009 University of Georgia Press
  26. ^ James Monroe and John Quincy Adams, July 13, 1820. July 13, 1820.
  27. ^ Mahon, John K. (1962). "The Treaty of Moultrie Creek, 1823". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 40 (4): 350–372. ISSN 0015-4113. JSTOR 30139875.
  28. ^ Remini, Robert Vincent (1977). Andrew Jackson and the course of American empire, 1767–1821. Internet Archive. New York : Harper & Row. p. 325. ISBN 978-0-06-013574-4.
  29. ^ a b c d Deaver, Loretta. "Research Guides: Native American Resources in the Manuscript Division: Community Names Index". guides.loc.gov. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  30. ^ "Prairie Man: The Struggle between Sitting Bull and Indian Agent James McLaughlin" By Norman E. Matteoni, 2015 Rowman & Littlefield
  31. ^ "Indian agent and wilderness scholar: the life of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft" by Richard G. Bremer, 1987 Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University
  32. ^ Hutton, Paul A. (September 1978). "William Wells: Frontier Scout and Indian Agent". Indiana Magazine of History. 74 (3): 189. JSTOR 27790311.

Works cited

[edit]
  • "Indian Agents: Rulers of the Reserves" By John L. Steckley, 2016 Peter Lang Publishing
  • "Indian Agent: Peter Ellis Bean in Mexican Texas" By Jack Jackson, 2005 Texas A&M University Press
  • "The Silver Man: The Life and Times of Indian Agent John Kinzie" By Peter Shrake, 2016 Wisconsin Historical Society
  • "The Official Correspondence of James S. Calhoun: While Indian Agent at Santa Fé and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in New Mexico" by James S. Calhoun, 1915 U.S. Government Printing Office
  • "Christopher Gist: Colonial Frontiersman, Explorer, and Indian Agent" by Kenneth P. Bailey, 1976 Archon Books
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to United States Indian agents.
Wiktionary logo
Look up Indian agent in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.