The history of Indigenous American Citizenship in the United States is a testament to a prolonged struggle for fundamental rights and recognition. For centuries, the native inhabitants of this land faced unique challenges in asserting their place within the framework of American society, with full Native American Citizenship not universally granted until well into the 20th century. While individuals born in the United States are generally presumed citizens, the path for Native Americans was fraught with legal complexities, federal policies of assimilation, and state-level disenfranchisement that treated them as foreigners within their ancestral lands.
Early Roads to Limited Citizenship
Despite the nation’s founding principles, the concept of citizenship for Indigenous peoples was not straightforward from the outset. Early instances of Native Americans acquiring citizenship were often piecemeal and conditional, a far cry from universal recognition.
Treaties and Individual Provisions
One notable early example occurred with the 1831 Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. This treaty offered a path to American citizenship for members of the Choctaw Nation in Mississippi who chose not to relocate to Native American Territory. The condition was clear: individuals had to register and remain on designated lands for five years after the treaty’s ratification. This highlights an early federal attempt to integrate—or separate—Indigenous peoples through specific agreements, rather than broad recognition.
The Dred Scott Decision and the 14th Amendment
The U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous Dred Scott v. Sanford decision of 1857 touched upon the issue of Native American status, stating that Indigenous people could become citizens, but only through naturalization, not by birth within the United States. This ruling underscored the perception of Native Americans as distinct, sovereign entities, separate from the general population.
Following the Civil War, the 14th Amendment, passed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, sought to define citizenship more broadly. Section 1 famously declares: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” While seemingly inclusive, the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” became a critical point of contention regarding Native Americans. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee explicitly stated that the 14th Amendment had “no effect whatever upon the status of the Indian tribes within the limits of the United States.” This interpretation effectively excluded most Indigenous peoples, viewing them as members of semi-sovereign nations rather than individual citizens of the U.S.
“Indians Not Taxed” and Legal Exclusion
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, later passed in 1870, further codified this exclusion, declaring “all persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States.” This specific exclusion, based on taxation status, meant that only a minuscule fraction, approximately 8%, of the Native American population qualified for citizenship at the time. Others could gain citizenship through specific avenues such as marrying white individuals, serving in the military, or accepting taxable land allotments. This selective process underscored a federal policy aimed at individual assimilation rather than collective recognition. The legal barriers to Indigenous American Citizenship remained formidable.
The Supreme Court solidified this stance in 1884. It ruled that a Native person born a citizen of a recognized tribal nation was not inherently an American citizen and did not become one simply by voluntarily leaving their tribe and settling among non-Native communities. The court’s explanation stated that a Native person “who has not been naturalized, or taxed, or recognized as a citizen either by the United States or by the state, is not a citizen of the United States within the meaning of the first section of the Fourteenth Article of Amendment of the Constitution.” This ruling cemented the legal barriers to universal Indigenous American Citizenship.
The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887: Assimilation and Land Loss
In 1887, the Dawes Severalty Act represented a significant shift in federal policy, designed to dismantle communal tribal land ownership and assimilate Native Americans into white American culture. The Act permitted the federal government to redistribute tribal lands, allotting 160-acre parcels to individual heads of families. Any “unclaimed” or “surplus” land was then sold, with proceeds earmarked for establishing Indian schools. These schools aimed to “civilize” Native American children by teaching them reading, writing, and white cultural norms.
While proponents believed the Act would benefit Native Americans by encouraging farming and individual land ownership, its consequences were devastating. Over the subsequent decades, the sale of “surplus” and allotted land led to the loss of two-thirds of the 138 million acres that Native Americans had held prior to the Dawes Act, further eroding their cultural and economic foundations.
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924: A Milestone
Decades of limited, conditional citizenship and the impact of the Dawes Act set the stage for a more comprehensive legislative effort. By 1924, many Native Americans had already secured citizenship through various specific means, including military service during World War I, which highlighted the irony of fighting for a country that did not fully recognize them. However, a significant portion still living on reservations remained non-citizens.
Republican Representative Homer Snyder of New York championed legislation to grant citizenship on a broader scale. The culmination of these efforts was the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. Signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge on June 2, 1924, this act declared: “That all non-citizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby, declared to be citizens of the United States: Provided, That the granting of such citizenship shall not in any manner impair or otherwise affect the right of any Indian to tribal or other property.”
This landmark legislation extended Indigenous American Citizenship to approximately 125,000 non-citizen Indigenous Americans, out of an estimated total of 300,000 at the time. It was a crucial step, affirming a federal commitment to recognizing Native Americans as full citizens, regardless of their tribal affiliation or reservation residency. The act marked a significant turning point in the legal standing of Native Americans, moving away from fragmented policies towards universal recognition.
Post-Act Reforms and Continued Struggles
The Indian Citizenship Act, while monumental, was not an endpoint but rather a catalyst for further reforms and highlighted existing systemic issues.
The Meriam Report and Indian Reorganization Act
Shortly after the 1924 Act, the Secretary of the Interior commissioned the Institute for Government Research to evaluate the effects of the 1887 Dawes Act. The resulting 1928 Meriam Report provided a scathing indictment of federal policy, detailing how it had led to widespread poverty, exploitation, and the destruction of Native American culture and society. The report’s findings directly influenced the passage of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. This new legislation sought to reverse the assimilationist policies of the Dawes Act by promoting Native American autonomy. It prohibited further allotment of tribal lands, facilitated the return of some “surplus” lands, and encouraged tribes to establish active self-government. Significantly, individual tribes were given the option to accept or reject the Act, empowering them in a way previous legislation had not. With federal support, over two million acres of land were eventually returned to various tribes.
The Fight for Voting Rights
Despite gaining U.S. citizenship in 1924, the path to full electoral participation for Native Americans remained arduous. The Indian Citizenship Act did not automatically confer voting rights, as states retained control over voter qualifications. Many states continued to deny Indigenous citizens the right to vote based on various pretexts, including tribal exemption from real estate taxes, the maintenance of tribal affiliation, or the assertion that Native Americans living on reservations were “under guardianship” or federal trusteeship.
By 1938, seven states still refused to recognize Indigenous citizens’ right to vote. It was not until 1948 that all but two states with significant Native American populations—Arizona and New Mexico—had extended voting rights. Arizona’s Supreme Court struck down a discriminatory provision in its state constitution that year, paving the way for Native American voters there. However, it took until 1957 for all U.S. states to fully extend the franchise to their Indigenous populations, marking a protracted and challenging battle for basic democratic participation.
Even after acquiring legal voting rights, Native Americans, like African Americans, faced systemic barriers and discriminatory practices designed to suppress their vote. The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and subsequent legislation were crucial in reaffirming and strengthening voting protections for all American citizens, including Indigenous peoples, helping to dismantle the remaining obstacles to full political engagement.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Resilience and Progress
The journey to full Indigenous American Citizenship and voting rights has been a long and often painful one, spanning over a century of complex legal battles, evolving federal policies, and persistent advocacy. From the early, limited provisions of treaties and the exclusionary interpretations of the 14th Amendment, through the devastating impacts of the Dawes Act, to the watershed moment of the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, Native Americans continually asserted their right to be recognized within the nation they inhabited long before its founding. The subsequent struggle for voting rights, culminating in universal state recognition by 1957 and bolstered by Civil Rights era protections, underscores the deep-seated challenges faced by Indigenous communities. This history serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of recognizing and protecting the rights of all citizens, and of the enduring resilience of Native American peoples in their pursuit of equality and self-determination.
