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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 21, 2014 08:59 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Mark Painter |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Resolution Commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the Indian Citizen Act |
In the near future, I plan on introducing a resolution commemorating the 90th Anniversary of the Indian Citizen Act of 1924. Prior to the Civil War, citizenship was often limited to Native Americans of one-half or less Indian blood. In the Reconstruction period, progressive Republicans in Congress sought to accelerate the granting of citizenship to friendly tribes, though state support for these measures was often limited. Through the passage of the Dawes Act of 1887 and the Curtis Act of 1898, American Indians were granted citizenship via property rights. Prior to these measures, Native Americans were only able to gain citizenship through special treaties, and, in the case of women, marriage. In 1919, Congress enacted the American Indian Citizenship Act, which authorized American Indian veterans of World War I who wanted to become American citizens to apply for and be granted citizenship; however, the Act did not grant automatic citizenship. Finally, on June 2nd, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed The Indian Citizen Act into law granting citizenship to about 125,000 of 300,000 indigenous people in the United States. Under the new law, American Indians would not have to apply for citizenship, nor did they have to give up their tribal citizenship to become a U.S. citizen. This landmark legislation represents to first tried and true efforts to grant Native Americans all of the rights offered to United States citizens. Please consider joining me in commemorating this important milestone in American history. |
Introduced as HR731