Reservations

The reservation system first appeared in the eighteenth century and expanded greatly during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, as new policies of forced removals tore Native communities from their traditional territories. Although these reservations were supposed to preserve a degree of Indigenous sovereignty, federal policies were often purposefully oppressive in an effort to assimilate Indigenous peoples into Anglo-American culture. Natives were discriminated against and deprived of economic opportunity, forced to abandon traditional forms of self-care and healing, and even had their religious ceremonies outlawed under penalty of imprisonment. These violations continue to affect life on the reservation today, with some efforts to resolve problems coming only in recent history.