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Indian Reorganization Act

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In contrast to past U.S. government policies towards Natives, during the Great Depression of the 1930s when industrialization was at a standstill and Americans were suffering, the government looked to Native past cultural traditions as a possible answer to industrial problems. This was call the Indian New Deal. The policy was offered by the Indians affairs commissioner, John Collier, who admired the Indian’s culture. He stated that they had “…the secret of building great personality through the instrumentality of social institutions” and this knowledge should be appreciated and protected. Collier encouraged mixing the American with the Indian culture and proposed a bill that abolished allotment and helped preserve Indian society. This “New Deal” for Indians was called the Indian Reorganization Act of 1938.
This new policy did not benefit all Native tribes. Some like the Navajo, had acculturated, and to go back to old tribal ways financially impacted them negatively. When the New Deal was enacted, the Navajo rejected it because they believed it was a way for the white men to control how they lived. In 1933, their suspicions proved correct when Collier decided that they needed to …show more content…
The plantations were running on two different systems: the task system and gang system. The Task system is used mainly for rice plantations and it gave slaves a task to finish during that day. If the task was completed early, slaves may have their own time to do what they wanted. The gang system did not have a single task but forced slaves to work the whole day which lasted 14 hours for 6 days a week. This system was superior because it produced more products than the task system or a farm with no slaves. Sunday was the only day the slaves were allowed to work for themselves, which they used to do other work to buy their

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