Indian Rights Association
Encyclopedia
The Indian Rights Association (IRA) was an American social activist group dedicated to the well being and acculturation of Native Americans
. Founded in Philadelphia
in 1882, the Indian Rights Associations (IRA) was highly influential in American Indian policy through the 1930s and remained involved as an organization until 1994.
The organization's initial stated objective was to "bring about the complete civilization of the Indians and their admission to citizenship." 19th and 20th Century groups such as the Indian Rights Association considered themselves the "friends of the Indian" but, by modern standards, had little understanding of the cultural patterns and needs of Native Americans. Although the IRA and related groups were well intentioned and some of their activities were beneficial, many policies they helped enact were destructive to Indian people in the long term.
In 1884, the organization's founders, Herbert Welsh
and Henry Spackman Pancoast, opened an additional office in Washington D.C. to act as a legislative lobby and liaison with the Board of Indian Commissioners
and the Board of Indian Affairs
. The IRA also opened an early office in Boston, Massachusetts. The management of early Indian Rights Association's programs fell almost entirely to five men, all of whom had lengthy careers with the IRA: Herbert Welsh
, Matthew Sniffen, and Lawrence E. Lindley, active in Philadelphia; and Charles C. Painter
and Samuel M. Brosius, agents and lobbyists in Washington D.C.
In addition to efforts on policy development and congressional lobbying, the Indian Rights Association monitored the actions of Indian Bureau agents and observed Native American living conditions and health care needs through correspondence and trips to reservations and settlements. They also sponsored speaking tours for activists and Native American representatives as a means of informing the public about native issues. The Unitarian minister and journalist Jonathan Baxter Harrison
was an especially influential observer, publishing several books and articles detailing his findings in the late 1880s.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Founded in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
in 1882, the Indian Rights Associations (IRA) was highly influential in American Indian policy through the 1930s and remained involved as an organization until 1994.
The organization's initial stated objective was to "bring about the complete civilization of the Indians and their admission to citizenship." 19th and 20th Century groups such as the Indian Rights Association considered themselves the "friends of the Indian" but, by modern standards, had little understanding of the cultural patterns and needs of Native Americans. Although the IRA and related groups were well intentioned and some of their activities were beneficial, many policies they helped enact were destructive to Indian people in the long term.
In 1884, the organization's founders, Herbert Welsh
Herbert Welsh
Herbert Welsh was a United States political reformer and worker for Indian welfare.-Biography:He was born in Philadelphia, the son of John Welsh, a prosperous merchant...
and Henry Spackman Pancoast, opened an additional office in Washington D.C. to act as a legislative lobby and liaison with the Board of Indian Commissioners
Board of Indian Commissioners
The Board of Indian Commissioners was a committee that advised the federal government of the United States on Native American policy and it inspected supplies delivered to Indian agencies to ensure the fufillment of government treaty obligations to tribes....
and the Board of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
. The IRA also opened an early office in Boston, Massachusetts. The management of early Indian Rights Association's programs fell almost entirely to five men, all of whom had lengthy careers with the IRA: Herbert Welsh
Herbert Welsh
Herbert Welsh was a United States political reformer and worker for Indian welfare.-Biography:He was born in Philadelphia, the son of John Welsh, a prosperous merchant...
, Matthew Sniffen, and Lawrence E. Lindley, active in Philadelphia; and Charles C. Painter
Charles C. Painter
Charles C. Painter was an American abolitionist, Native American advocate and Congregational minister. The son of a Virginia planter who freed his slaves prior to the Civil War, Painter served on the faculty of Fisk University, dedicated to the education of African Americans...
and Samuel M. Brosius, agents and lobbyists in Washington D.C.
In addition to efforts on policy development and congressional lobbying, the Indian Rights Association monitored the actions of Indian Bureau agents and observed Native American living conditions and health care needs through correspondence and trips to reservations and settlements. They also sponsored speaking tours for activists and Native American representatives as a means of informing the public about native issues. The Unitarian minister and journalist Jonathan Baxter Harrison
Jonathan Baxter Harrison
Jonathan Baxter Harrison , Unitarian minister and journalist who was involved in many of the social causes of his day: abolitionism, Indian rights, forest preservation, and the cultural improvement of the working class...
was an especially influential observer, publishing several books and articles detailing his findings in the late 1880s.
External links
- The Indian Rights Association Records, including correspondence, organizational records, photographs and other printed materials, are available for research use at the Historical Society of PennsylvaniaHistorical Society of PennsylvaniaThe Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...
.