Indian Relocation Act of 1956

The Indian Relocation Act of 1956 (also known as Public Law 959 or the Adult Vocational Training Program) was a United States law intended to encourage Native Americans in the United States to leave Indian reservations, acquire vocational skills, and assimilate into the general population. Part of the Indian termination policy of that era, it played a significant role in increasing the population of urban Indians in succeeding decades.[1][2][3][4]

At a time when the U.S. government was decreasing subsidies to Indians living on reservations, the Relocation Act offered to pay moving expenses and provide some vocational training for those who were willing to move from the reservations to certain government-designated cities.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Rebecca L. Robbins, "Self-Determination and Subordination: the Past, Present, and Future of American Indian Governance" (87:122) in M. Annette Jaimes (editor), The State of Native America: Genocide, Colonization, and Resistance, South End Press, ISBN 0896084248. p. 99.
  2. ^ Employment Assistance Program, The United Sioux Tribes of South Dakota Development Corporation. Accessed online 2009-05-04.
  3. ^ Information on Chippewa Indians Turtle Mountain Reservation, Turtle Mountain Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Belcourt, North Dakota. Accessed online 2009-05-04.
  4. ^ History and Facts, Phoenix Indian Center. Accessed online 2009-05-04.

See also