House Concurrent Resolution 108
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| House Concurrent Resolution 108 | |
|---|---|
| Name | House Concurrent Resolution 108 |
| Enacted by | United States Congress |
| Date passed | 1953 |
| Related legislation | Termination policy, Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, Indian Claims Commission Act, Public Law 280 |
| Summary | Resolution urging immediate termination of federal supervision over certain reservations and the end of federal obligations toward specific Native American tribes |
House Concurrent Resolution 108 is a 1953 joint resolution of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate that articulated a policy to terminate federal supervision and special relationships with selected Native American tribes. It accelerated the termination era begun during the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman administrations and influenced subsequent actions by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, and United States federal courts. The resolution precipitated a wave of administrative terminations, legislative acts, and legal disputes involving tribes such as the Klamath Tribes, the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, and the Flathead Indian Reservation communities.
Background and Legislative Context
Passed during the early Cold War years under the 83rd United States Congress, the resolution reflected priorities of the Eisenhower administration, congressional committees including the House Committee on Public Lands and the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, and conservative policy influencers like the American Legion and John Collier's opponents. It intersected with prior statutes such as the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and later measures like the Indian Claims Commission Act and Public Law 280, as well as federal programs administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Justice. Debates invoked figures including Senator Arthur V. Watkins, proponents of termination, and critics associated with the National Congress of American Indians and tribal leaders from the Navajo Nation and Lakota communities.
Provisions of the Resolution
The resolution called for immediate steps to end federal trusteeship, tribal recognition, and special services for certain tribes, endorsing conversion of tribal trust lands into fee simple holdings and subjecting reservation inhabitants to state jurisdiction under laws such as Public Law 280. It directed federal agencies including the Office of the Solicitor and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to prepare plans for termination, affecting matters of land title, federal assistance, and jurisdiction previously established under treaties like the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) and statutes connected to the Indian Appropriations Acts. The Resolution advanced termination as policy without specifying every affected tribe, enabling later determinations by Congress and the Secretary of the Interior.
Implementation and Federal Policy Changes
Following the resolution, Congress enacted termination statutes for tribes including the Klamath Termination Act (1954) and the Menominee Restoration Act later reversing termination; administrative actions applied to groups on reservations such as Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Flathead Indian Reservation. Federal agencies implemented changes through the Bureau of Indian Affairs regional offices, often coordinating with state authorities like the governments of Wisconsin and Oregon. The policy shifted federal Indian law in conjunction with court rulings such as Worcester v. Georgia's later interpretations, and administrative implementation raised issues handled by the United States Court of Claims and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Impact on Native American Tribes and Communities
Termination disrupted tribal sovereignty for affected nations including the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, the Klamath Tribes, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and many smaller communities. Consequences included loss of federal healthcare services from agencies like the Indian Health Service, reductions in education programs tied to institutions such as Haskell Indian Nations University, fragmentation of communal landholdings influenced by precedents from the General Allotment Act era, and economic dislocation resembling conditions documented among Pine Ridge Indian Reservation populations. Social and political leaders from tribes, as represented in the National Congress of American Indians and local councils, organized opposition, mobilizing litigation strategies and appeals to federal agencies and members of Congress including Senator Henry M. Jackson and representatives sympathetic to restoration.
Legal Challenges and Subsequent Legislation
Termination provoked litigation in venues such as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and prompted congressional reversals, notably the Menominee Restoration Act and restoration acts for other tribes. Legal claims invoked treaty rights, trust obligations recognized in cases like those adjudicated by the Indian Claims Commission, and constitutional questions heard by the United States Supreme Court in contemporaneous Indian law cases. Advocacy from organizations including the National Congress of American Indians, tribal attorneys trained at institutions like the University of New Mexico School of Law and litigators appearing before federal courts helped secure legislative remedies and administrative reinstatement of services and recognition.
Historical Significance and Legacy
The resolution is a pivotal document in 20th-century indigenous policy, marking the high point of the Indian termination policy and triggering a policy reversal culminating in the self-determination era associated with legislation such as the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Its legacy informs contemporary debates involving tribal sovereignty, federal trust responsibilities, land rights originating from treaties like the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and the role of federal agencies including the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in relation to nations like the Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, and Sioux. Scholars and institutions including the Smithsonian Institution and university centers on indigenous studies continue to analyze its impacts on tribal governance, legal status, and cultural preservation.