Indian Citizenship Act Facts & Worksheets

The Indian Citizenship Act, passed by the United States (U.S.) Congress, on June 2, 1924, provided citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. However, the right to vote was limited by state law; until 1957, certain states prohibited Native Americans from voting.

See the fact file below for more information about the Indian Citizenship Act, or you can download our 25-page Indian Citizenship Act worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• As mentioned in Article One of the U.S. Constitution, Native Americans that were not taxed were not considered part of the state’s population for apportionment purposes. 
• Historically, indigenous groups were considered separate nation members with individual citizenship and treaty rights. Members of these indigenous groups were not considered citizens of the U.S.
• The case of Mississippi Choctaw was considered the earliest point of indigenous people who became citizens of the U.S. after the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830 was ratified.
• The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed between the Choctaw people and the United States Government on September 27, 1830, and proclaimed on February 24, 1831.
• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) that Native Americans might become citizens, but only by naturalization rather than birth within U.S. territory:

Following the American Civil War, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (ratified in 1870, after the 14th Amendment took effect) reaffirmed the exclusion, declaring:

The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 impacted American policies toward Native Americans. The federal government transferred tribal lands to heads of families in 160-acre allotments by its conditions, seeking to convert Indians into farmers.

DAWES SEVERALTY ACT

• The Act governed land rights on tribal lands in the United States. It was named for Massachusetts Senator Henry L. Dawes. It empowered the President of the United States to divide Native American tribe communal landholdings into allotments for Native American heads of families and individuals.
• Native Americans of mixed blood were forced to take U.S. citizenship. In contrast, others were detribalized or were systematically executed by detaching members from communities outside the colony so that they could be modernized or Westernized.
• The revenues from selling unclaimed or surplus land were used to build Indian schools where Native-American children studied reading, writing, and white America’s domestic and social systems. 
• By 1932, the sale of both unclaimed land and designated acreage had cost Native Americans two-thirds of the 138 million acres they had controlled previous to the Dawes Act.

INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT

• President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act on April 6, 1924. This act conferred citizenship to all North American Indigenous peoples. 
• Like other white leaders of the twentieth century, Coolidge believed that forcible assimilation was the greatest option for indigenous people.
• In 1923, Coolidge met with the Committee of One Hundred, a government organization comprised of indigenous and non-indigenous individuals.
• The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted all Indigenous peoples U.S. citizenship. There were 300,000 Indigenous peoples in America, with more than a third of them not citizens.

REACTIONS TO INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT

• Progressive Republicans in Congress attempted to advance the awarding of citizenship to friendly tribes during the Reconstruction Era, a period after the American Civil War. 
• Despite opposition from the state, the majority of Native American women who were married to U.S. citizens were granted citizenship in 1888, and Native American World War I veterans were granted citizenship in 1919.
• Despite the fact that the Indian Citizenship Act was passed, citizenship privileges were mainly determined by state law, and Native Americans were frequently denied the opportunity to vote in the early twentieth century.
• While some white citizen groups backed the Indian Citizenship Act, Native Americans were split.

The Chief of the Onondaga tribe wrote to President Calvin Coolidge on December 30, 1924, declaring:

The Act was backed by progressive senators and activists, especially Friends of the Indians and senators on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, who believed it would reduce corruption and inefficiency at the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

• The Indian Citizenship Act, for whatever reason it was enacted, did not give Native Americans the right to vote. Except for the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, which guarantee African-Americans and women the right to vote in all states, respectively, the Constitution gives states the authority to decide voting rights and conditions.
• Many states opposed allowing Native Americans to vote in their states at the time. As a result, Native Americans were forced to fight for the right to vote in individual state legislatures.

KEY FIGURES IN ADVANCING AMERICAN INDIAN RIGHTS

• Zitkala-Ša was a Yankton Dakota writer, editor, translator, musician, educator, and political activist.
• She was politically involved for the majority of her adult life. While on the Uintah-Ouray reservation in Utah, she was a member of the Society of American Indians (SAI), an organization dedicated to preserving Native American culture and advocating for full American citizenship.
• She and her husband created the National Council of American Indians (NCAI) in 1926 to unify tribes across the country in the pursuit of full citizenship rights through suffrage. 
• Zitkala-Ša was the NCAI’s President, key fundraiser, and speaker from 1926 until she died in 1938. Her early work was wholly forgotten when the organization was resurrected under male leadership in 1944.
• Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin was a suffragist, Native American rights campaigner, and Métis Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians attorney.
• Bottineau Baldwin initially advocated Native Americans’ assimilation into the non-Native culture. Nevertheless, throughout her public appearances, she embraced her indigenous culture as an essential part of her identity.
• Bottineau Baldwin’s traditional Ojibwa dress helped portray a ‘modern Indian identity’ when she appeared publicly and worked with the Society of American Indians.

LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND BELIEFS OF THE TSWANA PEOPLE

• Carlos Montezuma, also known as Wassaja, was a Native American activist and founder of the Society of American Indians.
• Carlos Montezuma began a correspondence with Richard Henry Pratt, an ardent assimilationist and founder of the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, in 1887.
• In addition, he was a founding member of the Society of American Indians, the first Indian rights group founded by and for Indians in 1911.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT

• The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 is noteworthy because it established the connection of indigenous peoples with the United States of America. Indigenous peoples were citizens of the country, entitled to the same constitutional protections as everyone else. 
• Despite the fact that they were entitled to these rights, they were denied them. Indigenous peoples, like African-Americans, were denied the right to vote. Indigenous people can now vote.
• Some indigenous peoples desired to become citizens, while others did not. Today, certain indigenous nations do not claim citizenship in the United States of America.

Indian Citizenship Act Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about the Indian Citizenship Act across 25 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about the Indian Citizenship Act. The Indian Citizenship Act, passed by the United States (U.S.) Congress, on June 2, 1924, provided citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. However, the right to vote was limited by state law; until 1957, certain states prohibited Native Americans from voting.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

1. Indian Citizenship Act Facts
2. Choose It
3. Take a Look Back
4. At Present
5. No Voting
6. Cast that Vote
7. Citizenship Rights
8. Citizen
9. In the Future
10. Our Rights!
11. My Point

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924?

The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also known as the Luce-Celler Act, was a U.S. federal law that granted citizenship rights to people of Indian descent living in the United States. It was signed into law on June 2, 1924, by President Calvin Coolidge.

Who was eligible for citizenship under this act?

The Indian Citizenship Act primarily targeted people of Indian descent who were already living in the United States. It granted citizenship to individuals who were born in India and were not eligible for citizenship before the passage of this act. However, there were some restrictions and requirements, such as the need to have resided in the United States for a specified period.

Why was the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 significant?

This act was significant because it marked a significant change in U.S. immigration policy and granted citizenship rights to a specific group of immigrants. Prior to its passage, people of Indian descent faced various legal barriers to obtaining U.S. citizenship, including the denial of naturalization rights.

What led to the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act?

The Indian Citizenship Act was the result of efforts by Indian immigrants and their supporters in the United States. It was part of a broader movement to challenge discriminatory immigration and naturalization laws that targeted Asian immigrants. The Act was also influenced by the friendship between India and the United States and aimed to improve diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Did the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 remove all immigration barriers for Indians?

No, the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 did not remove all immigration barriers for Indians. While it granted citizenship to those who met its criteria, it did not change the broader immigration laws that limited the number of Indian immigrants allowed into the United States. It wasn’t until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 that the racial and national origin-based quotas were eliminated, leading to increased immigration from India and other countries.

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