Indigenous “Relocation”
The 1950’s saw a reversal in policy as Congress sought to end all federal obligations to tribes. Citing widespread poverty and unemployment on reservations, government officials initiated tribal “termination.” Approximately 100 tribes and bands lost federal recognition, and millions of acres of tribal land became available for sale. Government officials distributed “relocation literature” promising one-way transportation to more prosperous lives in cities with industrial jobs, modern homes, and cars. These were empty promises. Like some 750,000 people who migrated to cities through these efforts, Ms. Gonzales and her son, both Arapahos from Santa Fe, “relocated” to the Chicago kitchenette pictured here. Indigenous people struggled to find housing and good jobs, facing worse hunger in cities than before. Government officials would later admit the “relocation” program was “a one-way ticket from rural to urban poverty.“
Museum Map
WISHING
TREE