Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
The Meriam Report (1928) investigates failed U.S. Indian policy
The Problem of Indian Administration: Report of a Survey made at the request of Honorable Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior, and submitted to him, February 21, 1928
In the late 19th century, the federal government's Indian policies of allotment and assimilation attempted to transform Indian life. By encouraging private ownership of tribal lands and education in strictly run schools, the government had hoped to make Indians more like mainstream white Americans. By the 1920s the failure of these policies had become apparent. In 1926, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior hired a team of investigators to inspect and report back on the conditions of Indian communities. That report, often called the Meriam Report, is given here (digitized from microfiche by the Education Resources Information Center). Its findings and recommendations on education, economic development, family and community life, and other social concerns were the basis for the 1934 Wheeler-Howard Act that redirected federal Indian policy.
| Related Topics: |
The Progressive Era Wisconsin's Response to 20th-century change Americanization and the Bennett Law Indians in the 20th Century |
| Creator: | Brookings Institution. Institute for Government Research. |
| Pub Data: | Baltimore, Md., The Johns Hopkins Press, 1928 |
| Citation: | Brookings Institution. The Problem of Indian Administration: Report of a Survey made at the request of Honorable Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior, and submitted to him, February 21, 1928 (Baltimore, Md., The Johns Hopkins Press, 1928). Online facsimile at: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED087573.pdf; Visited on: 5/14/2024 |
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