Federal Indian Policy implies the relationships that exist between the Indian tribes and the US government within the borders of the United States of America. People have been struggling for several hundred years with the problem pertaining to Indians in regard to their identity and rights. For several decades, the federal and state governments in the US have been in serious conflicts in trying to provide solutions to the problems that entail the application of several policies and laws in regard to the issues of the Indians. The attempts of the federal government in finding solutions can be well understood by tracing the history of the federal Indian policy. Indian tribes have been known to struggle in resisting government policies which they felt threatened to demolish their traditions and family bonds. During the period of colonization, the British treated different tribes of the Indians as foreign sovereign nations and protected them from colonists. The British even went to the extent of signing treaties with the Indian tribes in offering protection to them.
After the formation of the United States, the hunger for a land created lot of problems within states and the federal government took upon itself the responsibility to deal with Indian affairs. The Articles of Confederation granted Congress the singular right to control trade and commerce with Indian tribes and several Trade and Intercourse Acts were passed between 1790 and 1834 that recognized demarcation of Indian land and prevented non-Indians from settling in and taking control of such lands.
However, despite the protection provided to Indian people and lands, the hunger for land resulted in a movement that was able to push the Indians further west beyond the Mississippi. Several cases were lodged with the Supreme Court which showed sympathy towards the Indians in regard to their right on the lands but the title rules provided that as long as the Indians stayed on the lands, they had a right to them, but if they left, the federal government would become the lawful owners of such lands. The settlers’ hunger for the land had antagonized the Indians because they were forced to move westwards. Indian tribes had no option but to cede their lands and had to shift to predetermined pockets of land as decided by the federal government. Indians were also aggrieved due to attempts by religious organizations to convert them to Christianity by way of the establishment from 1878 onwards of reservation schools in their areas.
In 1887 the federal government passed the General Allotment Act which required Indians to assimilate the allotted lands to them into hubs of white culture. Specific sizes of lands were allotted to families by taking away from them the excess land over the prescribed limits. As a consequence Indian land declined from 138 million acres in 1887 to a minuscule area of only 48 million acres as of 1934. The General Allotment Act aimed at integrating an agricultural way of life and the creation of an impression of being landowners amongst the Indian tribes. However, the system of allotment did not prove to be effective since Indians were not used to the idea of ownership of land; it was more important for them to have a home. A law was passed in 1924 by Congress that gave all Indians US citizenship by virtue of their birth in the country. But all states did not confer on them the right to vote.