Native American Studies Glossary

The federal policy of dividing communal tribal lands into individual parcels, primarily under the Dawes Act of 1887, resulting in massive land loss for Native nations.

A Native American activist organization founded in 1968 in Minneapolis that fought for treaty rights, sovereignty, and cultural preservation through direct action and legal advocacy.

Policies and practices designed to absorb Indigenous peoples into mainstream Euro-American society by eliminating Native languages, cultures, and governance systems.

A system measuring the fraction of Native American ancestry to determine tribal membership eligibility, widely criticized as a colonial imposition that undermines Indigenous self-definition.

A federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior responsible for administering programs and services for federally recognized tribal nations and individual Native Americans.

Lands that tribal nations gave up through treaties with the United States, often retaining certain rights such as hunting, fishing, and gathering on those lands.

The process of dismantling colonial ideologies, structures, and practices, and restoring Indigenous knowledge systems, governance, and relationships to land.

A legal principle from 15th-century papal decrees asserting European sovereignty over non-Christian lands, later codified in U.S. law through Johnson v. M'Intosh (1823).

The formal acknowledgment by the U.S. government of a tribal nation's sovereign status, which entitles the tribe to a government-to-government relationship and access to federal services.

A spiritual movement that spread among Plains tribes in the late 1880s, teaching that ritual dancing would reunite the living with the dead, restore traditional ways, and remove white settlers. The U.S. government's fear of the movement led to the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.

A legal term encompassing all land within Indian reservations, dependent Indian communities, and Indian allotments, where tribal and federal jurisdiction generally apply rather than state jurisdiction.

Federal legislation that reversed the allotment policy, restored surplus lands to tribal ownership, and encouraged tribes to establish constitutional self-government. Also called the 'Indian New Deal.'

The transmission of historical oppression and its effects across generations, manifesting in higher rates of mental health challenges, substance abuse, and health disparities in Indigenous communities.

A contemporary movement advocating for the return of Indigenous lands, the restoration of tribal stewardship over ancestral territories, and the honoring of treaty obligations.

The 19th-century belief that the expansion of the United States across the continent was both justified and inevitable. This ideology provided the rationale for Indian removal, reservation confinement, and the destruction of Indigenous lifeways.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (1990), a federal law requiring the return of Native American cultural items and human remains held by museums and federal agencies.

The practice of transmitting cultural knowledge, history, laws, and spiritual teachings through spoken word, storytelling, songs, and ceremonies across generations rather than through written texts.

The doctrine that Congress has broad, near-absolute authority over Indian affairs, derived from judicial interpretation rather than explicit constitutional text. This doctrine has been used to justify unilateral federal actions affecting tribal nations.

A ceremonial feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, involving the redistribution of wealth, the affirmation of social status, and the transfer of rights and privileges. Potlatch ceremonies were banned by the U.S. and Canadian governments from the 1880s to the 1950s.

Land set aside by the federal government for the use and benefit of a Native American tribe, held in trust by the United States. Reservations are subject to tribal and federal jurisdiction.

The principle and policy that tribal nations have the right to make their own decisions about governance, education, healthcare, and economic development without external imposition.

The federal policy of the 1940s-1960s that sought to end the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations, eliminate reservations, and subject Native peoples to state laws and taxation.

A formal, legally binding agreement between a tribal nation and the U.S. government. Under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause, treaties are the supreme law of the land.

The federal government's legal and moral obligation to protect tribal lands, assets, treaty rights, and the welfare of Native peoples, arising from the treaty relationship and established in case law.

A contemporary pan-Indian term adopted in 1990 to describe Indigenous people who fulfill a traditional third-gender or gender-fluid role in their cultures. Many tribal nations historically recognized and honored individuals who embodied both masculine and feminine qualities.