Doctrine
reservation system
From about 1850 the United States confined tribes to reservations created by treaty, statute and executive order, replacing removal to one Indian territory.
- Definition
- The federal practice of confining tribes to defined reservations after about 1851.
What happened
The Library of Congress says that "By the mid-nineteenth century the policy of removal to a single large Indian territory was replaced by a policy of isolating Indians on reservations." The Bureau of Indian Affairs dates the "reservation system" from 1850 to 1891. In its words: "Between 1850 and 1891, numerous treaties and other written agreements were made that required tribes to relocate to distant territories or confined them to small areas that were 'reserved' portions of the tribes' aboriginal territories. These reservations were created by treaties, statutes, and executive orders."
Reservations varied. The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty, as the National Park Service describes it, recognized tribal territory on the Plains and offered annuities and protection in exchange for safe passage of American citizens. By contrast, in Winters v. United States (1908), the Court described an 1888 reservation, a tract set apart "as an Indian reservation as and for a permanent home and abiding place" of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine bands in Montana.
Reservations carry legal weight. In Solem v. Bartlett (1984), the Court said "Only Congress can divest an Indian reservation of its land and diminish its boundaries." The BIA dates the allotment era from 1887, which overlaps the end of the reservation-system period it describes.
Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error
What the sources say, and how this was checked
Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.
By the mid-nineteenth century the policy of removal to a single large Indian territory was replaced by a policy of isolating Indians on reservations.
Reservations and Allotments, Native American Spaces, Library of CongressThese reservations were created by treaties, statutes, and executive orders.
Federal Law and Indian Policy Overview, Bureau of Indian Affairsrecognizes tribal territory on the Plains
Timeline, Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, National Park Serviceas an Indian reservation as and for a permanent home and abiding place
Winters v. United States, 207 U.S. 564 (1908), Cornell LIIOnly Congress can divest an Indian reservation of its land and diminish its boundaries.
Solem v. Bartlett, 465 U.S. 463 (1984), Cornell LII
Research notes. The 1851 Appropriations Act sometimes cited as the start of the policy could not be confirmed: the Statutes at Large page available shows only appropriations headings. The narrative relies on the LOC and BIA overviews for the 1850 start. These overviews are summaries, not primary law. The Fort Laramie description is the Park Service's.
Who is doing the work
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
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Sources
No source is linked to this record yet. That is a gap we are working to close.
- Kind
- Doctrine
- Confidence
- Medium