1919The Bureau of Indian Affairs confiscates the
Northern Cheyenne’s horse herds.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs announces that the
number of horses owned by the Northern Chey-
enne must be reduced to free grazing land for their
cattle. Ignoring the tribe’s objections, officials ar-
range for many of their horses to be shot and the
meat of the slaughtered animals to be served to the
Indians as rations. Other horses are confiscated and
sold, with none of the proceeds passed on to the
horses’ owners. (See also entry for 1914.)
November
The Mission Indian Federation is founded.
During a conference led by non-Indian Jona-
than Tibbet at his home in Riverside, California,
a group of southern California Indians forms the
Mission Indian Federation (MIF). The MIF grows
out of the Indians’ anger with their past dealings
with the federal government, specifically with the
Bureau of Indian Affairs. The members are particu-
larly incensed that California Indians have not been
compensated for lands taken from them by treaty
in exchange for reservations that the government
never established. The organization is also com-
mitted to obtaining full citizenship for Indians and
campaigning for the disbanding of the BIA. (See
also entry for 1921.)
November 16
Congress grants citizenship to Indian
veterans.
The U.S. government rewards Indians for service
in the military during World War I (see entry for
1917) with the passage of the Indian Veteran’s
Citizenship Bill. The legislation, which gives
citizenship to any honorably discharged Indian
veteran who applies for it, paves the way for the
Indian Citizenship Act, which will make citizens of
all Indians born in the United States (see entry for
JUNE 2, 1924).
1920Navajo (Dineh) weaver Hosteen Klah
creates the first dry painting rug.
An important religious leader among the Navajo
(Dineh), Hosteen Klah weaves a rug called “The
Whirling Log.” Its design is based on a dry paint-
ing (often called sand painting)—an image formed
from crushed minerals and made by Navajo holy
men during healing ceremonies. Many Navajo
object to Klah’s creation of a permanent represen-
tation of a dry painting, which traditionally is
destroyed after ceremonial use. Over their ob-
jections, Klah displays the rug at the Gallup
Ceremonial. After it wins a blue ribbon at the art
show, Klah sells it to a white tourist. Recognizing
a large market for dry painting rugs, he will weave
24 more for sale to non-Indians and train two of his
nieces in the new art form.The Canadian government allows
compulsory enfranchisement of Indians.
To promote assimilation, the Canadian govern-
ment allows Indians to give up their Indian status
in exchange for full citizenship and the right to
vote. Because very few Indians apply for citizenship,
parliament passes an amendment to the Indian Act
(see entry for APRIL 12, 1876) giving the superin-
tendent general the power to enfranchise Indians
over the age of 21 and strip them of their Indian
status without their consent. In the wake of Indian
outrage over this threat to their autonomy, the gov-
ernment will repeal the amendment in 1922, only
to reinstate it in 1933, with an added provision that
enfranchisement cannot be forced on an Indian if
the action violates a treaty promise.1921A rash of murders strikes the Osage
reservation.
With the oil royalties on Osage lands in Oklahoma
reaching approximately $20 million a year (see
entry for 1897), wealthy tribe members increasingly