The 1934 Indian Reorganization Act and Indigenous Governance: A Comparison of Governance of Santa Clara Pueblo and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Nations — 1991 – 2000

Native American communities are continually impacted by Federal Indian policy. Over one-half of all Native American nations function politically under the provisions of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA). There are claims that many of these Native American communities experience intra-tribal conflict due to the lack of congruence between the tribal governments formed under the IRA and cultural traditions of governance. This claim was investigated via a comparative trend analysis of the Santa Clara Pueblo, operating politically under the IRA provisions, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, operating under a constitutional form of governance outside of IRA provisions. After an historical analysis, an evaluation of tribal constitutions, and an examination of news media coverage for the period of 1991 – 2000, the project concluded that the legacies of the IRA are not the primary causal agent of intra-tribal conflict.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Political Science

Department dc:contributor.department

Political Science

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• LaRoque, Kent A.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Corntassel, Jeffrey J.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Luke, Timothy W.
• Nelson, Scott G.

• Native American Politics
• Federal Indian Policy
• Indigenous People

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-07012004-091055

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/33849