Indians in the Curriculum:
20 Handouts for Middle and High School
History and Social Studies
By Kerry Dunne

18 Activities: Indian Citizenship Act, 1924

Background:

From United States Statutes at Large, 43:253 and reprinted in Documents of United States Indian Policy, edited by Francis Paul Prucha, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1975. In 1924, Congress granted citizenship to all Indians born within the United States who were not yet citizens. Until then, most Indians, especially those living on reservations, were not eligible for citizenship and therefore had no voting rights.

Study and Discuss:

1.     When were black men given full rights as United States citizens?

2.     When were women given full rights as citizens?

3.     What was the last ethnic group to be granted citizenship and voting rights? What is the irony of this?

4.     Why do you think that the federal government took so long in granting citizenship to most Native Americans?

Resources 18: Indian Citizenship Act, 1924