Meriam Report
Encyclopedia
The Meriam Report whose official title was The Problem of Indian Administration, was commissioned by the Institute for Government Research (IGR, better known later as the Brookings Institution
) and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation
. The IGR appointed Lewis Meriam as the technical director of the survey team, to compile information and report of the conditions of American Indians
across the country. Meriam submitted the 847-page report to the Secretary of the Interior
, Hubert Work
, on February 21, 1928.
The report combined narrative with statistics to criticize the Department of Interior's (DOI) implementation of the Dawes Act
, and overall conditions on reservations and in Indian boarding schools. The Meriam Report was the first general study of Indian conditions since the 1850s, when the ethnologist and former US Indian Agent
Henry R. Schoolcraft had completed a six-volume work for the US Congress. The Meriam Report provided much of the data used to reform American Indian policy through new legislation: the Indian Reorganization Act
of 1934. It strongly influenced succeeding policies in land allotment, education, and health care. The report found generally that the US federal government was failing at its goals of protecting Native Americans, their land, and their resources, both personal and cultural.
in 1883. He received degrees in English and government from Harvard University
, law degrees from the National Law School and George Washington University
, and a Ph.D. from the Brookings Institution
. He worked for several government bureaus both before and after his work on the Indian Survey, including the bureaus of Census
and Children’s Welfare.
In 1926, Interior Secretary Hubert Work
chose Meriam to head a survey team to investigate Indian Affairs because of his experience with the technical study of government operations, as well as his expertise in government administration. Meriam spent 3 years working on this project, which became known as the “Meriam Commission” or the “Meriam Report”. His involvement in Indian affairs ended in 1936 because of his skepticism of the New Deal
.
In 1946 he was appointed as Vice President of the Brookings Institute. He died in Kensington, Maryland, on October 30, 1972.
(Indian adviser), Edward Everett Dale
(economic conditions), Emma Duke (Indian migration to urban areas), Dr. Herbert Edwards (physician) (health), Fayette Avery McKenzie (source materials), Mary Louise Mark (family life), W. Carson Ryan, Jr. (education), and William J. Spillman (agriculture).
, the Meriam Commission was charged with investigating the affairs of Indians in the United States. To maintain unbiased standards for the survey, it was financed by the Rockefeller Foundation
, not by any government agency or agent. “The investigation would cover nearly all reservations and would deal with educational, industrial, social, and medical activities of the BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs], as well as with Indian property rights and economic conditions.”
The team conducted seven months of field work to gather its information. They conducted field work was conducted in 23 states, selected based on a report by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that arranged states in order of number of Native American inhabitants. The report showed 23 states having more than 1,000 Native American inhabitants, the top three being Oklahoma, Arizona, and South Dakota. The team visited a total of 95 reservations, agencies, hospitals, and schools. At least one member of the survey team visited each of these 95 locations; often members of the team were forced to work independently in order to complete the required work in the shortest possible amount of time. “[Interior Secretary] Work insisted that the survey be completed within one year, so that he might effect changes before a new administration took office in Washington.” This field work produced a report of 847 pages consisting of the following eight sections:
1. A General Policy for Indian Affairs
2. Health
3. Education
4. General Economic Conditions
5. Family and Community Life & the Activities of Women
6. The Migrated Indians
7. The Legal Aspects of the Indian Problem
8. The Missionary Activities among the Indians
The report is concise and unbiased in its analysis: it states the facts of Indian conditions of the 1920s. The conclusion of the report reflects the opinions of the survey team. For example, the report states that “any policy for Indians based on the notion that they can or should be kept permanently isolated from other Americans is bound to fail.” In the report, the survey team included extensive recommendations for the correction of deficiencies, notably in health, education, and government cooperation for legal and social issues.
and trachoma
, were very widespread both on reservations in general and specifically at off-reservation boarding schools. In its section on health care services provided by the government to Native Americans, the report states: “The hospitals, sanatoria, and sanatorium schools maintained by the [Indian Health] Service, despite a few exceptions, must generally be characterized as lacking in personnel, equipment, management, and design.” The government, although it had numerous on- and off-reservation health care institutions, did not provide sufficient care for Indian patients. The report noted, “the most important single item affecting health is probably the food supply.” A further setback facing healthcare on Indian reservations was a general lack of knowledge of the Indian languages by healthcare providers.
The most significant and influential effect of the Meriam Report was from its strong criticism of the Dawes Act and analysis of its failings. Also known as the General Allotment Act, the Dawes Act of 1887 had sought to break up the communal Indian land by allocating allotments to individual Indian households, encouraging families to undertake subsistence farming, the model of European-American culture.
Within five years of the Report, the policy of allotment was abandoned altogether. On June 18, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed the Indian Reorganization Act
into law. This new act ended allotment and permitted tribes to organize their own governments and to incorporate their trust lands communally.
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
) and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
. The IGR appointed Lewis Meriam as the technical director of the survey team, to compile information and report of the conditions of American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
across the country. Meriam submitted the 847-page report to the Secretary of the Interior
Secretary of the Interior
The Secretary of the Interior may refer to:* The United States Secretary of the Interior* The Secretario de Gobernación Secretary of the Interior...
, Hubert Work
Hubert Work
Hubert Work was a U.S. administrator and physician. He served as the Postmaster General between 1922 and 1923 in the presidency of Warren G. Harding. He then served as the Secretary of the Interior from 1923-1928 during the administration of Calvin Coolidge.Work was born in Marion Center,...
, on February 21, 1928.
The report combined narrative with statistics to criticize the Department of Interior's (DOI) implementation of the Dawes Act
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act, adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land and divide the land into allotments for individual Indians. The Act was named for its sponsor, Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts. The Dawes Act was amended in 1891 and again...
, and overall conditions on reservations and in Indian boarding schools. The Meriam Report was the first general study of Indian conditions since the 1850s, when the ethnologist and former US Indian Agent
Indian agent
In United States history, an Indian agent was an individual authorized to interact with Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government.-Indian agents:*Leander Clark was agent for the Sac and Fox in Iowa beginning in 1866....
Henry R. Schoolcraft had completed a six-volume work for the US Congress. The Meriam Report provided much of the data used to reform American Indian policy through new legislation: the Indian Reorganization Act
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives...
of 1934. It strongly influenced succeeding policies in land allotment, education, and health care. The report found generally that the US federal government was failing at its goals of protecting Native Americans, their land, and their resources, both personal and cultural.
Lewis Meriam and the survey team
Lewis Meriam was born in Salem, MassachusettsSalem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
in 1883. He received degrees in English and government from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, law degrees from the National Law School and George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, and a Ph.D. from the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
. He worked for several government bureaus both before and after his work on the Indian Survey, including the bureaus of Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
and Children’s Welfare.
In 1926, Interior Secretary Hubert Work
Hubert Work
Hubert Work was a U.S. administrator and physician. He served as the Postmaster General between 1922 and 1923 in the presidency of Warren G. Harding. He then served as the Secretary of the Interior from 1923-1928 during the administration of Calvin Coolidge.Work was born in Marion Center,...
chose Meriam to head a survey team to investigate Indian Affairs because of his experience with the technical study of government operations, as well as his expertise in government administration. Meriam spent 3 years working on this project, which became known as the “Meriam Commission” or the “Meriam Report”. His involvement in Indian affairs ended in 1936 because of his skepticism of the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
.
In 1946 he was appointed as Vice President of the Brookings Institute. He died in Kensington, Maryland, on October 30, 1972.
The survey team
Meriam had difficulty choosing a team because many of the prospective members could not leave their jobs. The IGR required team members to be “persons highly qualified as specialists in their respective fields, scientific in their approach, not sensationalists, and free from preconceived views and opinions that would interfere with their impartiality and fairness in gathering and interpreting the facts.” He finally gathered a team composed of several specialists in a variety of disciplines: Ray A. Brown (legal aspects), Henry Roe CloudHenry Roe Cloud
Henry Roe was a Native American who distinguished himself as an educator, college administrator, U.S. Federal Government official , Presbyterian minister, and reformer....
(Indian adviser), Edward Everett Dale
Edward Everett Dale
Edward Everett Dale was an American historian and longtime faculty member of the University of Oklahoma. He was a proponent of Frederick Jackson Turner's "frontier thesis" and is known as a major influence on the historian Angie Debo.-Biography:...
(economic conditions), Emma Duke (Indian migration to urban areas), Dr. Herbert Edwards (physician) (health), Fayette Avery McKenzie (source materials), Mary Louise Mark (family life), W. Carson Ryan, Jr. (education), and William J. Spillman (agriculture).
General information
Authorized by the Institute for Government Research on June 12, 1926 at the request of the Secretary of the InteriorSecretary of the Interior
The Secretary of the Interior may refer to:* The United States Secretary of the Interior* The Secretario de Gobernación Secretary of the Interior...
, the Meriam Commission was charged with investigating the affairs of Indians in the United States. To maintain unbiased standards for the survey, it was financed by the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, not by any government agency or agent. “The investigation would cover nearly all reservations and would deal with educational, industrial, social, and medical activities of the BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs], as well as with Indian property rights and economic conditions.”
The team conducted seven months of field work to gather its information. They conducted field work was conducted in 23 states, selected based on a report by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that arranged states in order of number of Native American inhabitants. The report showed 23 states having more than 1,000 Native American inhabitants, the top three being Oklahoma, Arizona, and South Dakota. The team visited a total of 95 reservations, agencies, hospitals, and schools. At least one member of the survey team visited each of these 95 locations; often members of the team were forced to work independently in order to complete the required work in the shortest possible amount of time. “[Interior Secretary] Work insisted that the survey be completed within one year, so that he might effect changes before a new administration took office in Washington.” This field work produced a report of 847 pages consisting of the following eight sections:
1. A General Policy for Indian Affairs
2. Health
3. Education
4. General Economic Conditions
5. Family and Community Life & the Activities of Women
6. The Migrated Indians
7. The Legal Aspects of the Indian Problem
8. The Missionary Activities among the Indians
The report is concise and unbiased in its analysis: it states the facts of Indian conditions of the 1920s. The conclusion of the report reflects the opinions of the survey team. For example, the report states that “any policy for Indians based on the notion that they can or should be kept permanently isolated from other Americans is bound to fail.” In the report, the survey team included extensive recommendations for the correction of deficiencies, notably in health, education, and government cooperation for legal and social issues.
Health
The report states, “the health of the Indians compared with that of the general population is bad.” It said that the general death rate and the infant mortality rate were high. Serious diseases, such as tuberculosisTuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and trachoma
Trachoma
Trachoma is an infectious disease causing a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. Also called granular conjunctivitis and Egyptian ophthalmia, it is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world...
, were very widespread both on reservations in general and specifically at off-reservation boarding schools. In its section on health care services provided by the government to Native Americans, the report states: “The hospitals, sanatoria, and sanatorium schools maintained by the [Indian Health] Service, despite a few exceptions, must generally be characterized as lacking in personnel, equipment, management, and design.” The government, although it had numerous on- and off-reservation health care institutions, did not provide sufficient care for Indian patients. The report noted, “the most important single item affecting health is probably the food supply.” A further setback facing healthcare on Indian reservations was a general lack of knowledge of the Indian languages by healthcare providers.
Economy
The report concluded that “The income of the typical Indian family is low and the earned income extremely low.” The report addressed the poverty thought to have resulted from the individual allotment policy of the Dawes Act. It found: “In justice to the Indians it should be said that many of them are living on lands from which a trained and experienced white man could scarcely wrest a reasonable living.” Not only was loss of land a factor in reservation poverty found on reservations, but the land they held was largely unsuitable for family farming and agriculture. The survey found that “the economic basis of the primitive culture of the Indians has been largely destroyed by the encroachment of white civilization.” A culture that previously had depended on its environment as a sustainable economy was losing the very land on which they survived. The report identified the problems with changing political appointees under elected presidential administrations. Elections tended to bring about a change in top political appointees and changes in economic development programs; thus, the BIA supported no long-term development on reservations. The report also states: “Little attempt has been made to formulate a broad constructive program for the service as a whole, extending over a long term of years, and having for its goal the general improvement of economic conditions.”Education
The Meriam Report emphasized the need for education but it suggested that such education should be based on integration of Indian children into the majority culture, rather than educating Indian children in separate institutions, as previous education policies had stressed. The first line in the education section states, “The most fundamental need in Indian education is a change in point of view.” The report was particularly critical of Indian boarding schools: “The survey staff finds itself obligated to say frankly and unequivocally that the provisions for the care of the Indian children in boarding schools are grossly inadequate.” The survey team concluded that the boarding schools provided poor diet, were overcrowded, did not provide sufficient medical services, were supported by student labor, and relied on a uniform curriculum rather than raising teacher standards. While the report drew attention to the gross deficiencies of Indian boarding school education, the assimilationist policies of Indian education, dependent on such boarding schools, continued for another 40 years. The schools reached their peak student enrollment of 60,000 in the 1970s.Results
The Meriam Report can be seen to have affected several aspects of government policy. “Acting upon the emergency recommendations of the Meriam Report, President Hoover requested additional funds to supply adequate food and clothing for pupils in the Indian schools.” Additionally, Charles J. Rhoads and J. Henry Scattergood (Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs, appointed by Hoover), accomplished or initiated many of the recommendations of the Meriam Report.The most significant and influential effect of the Meriam Report was from its strong criticism of the Dawes Act and analysis of its failings. Also known as the General Allotment Act, the Dawes Act of 1887 had sought to break up the communal Indian land by allocating allotments to individual Indian households, encouraging families to undertake subsistence farming, the model of European-American culture.
“The immediate result of the report’s attack on [land] allotment was a decline in the issuance of allotted lands. In the four fiscal years prior to the initiation of the study, 1922–1926, approximately 10,000 Native Americans were allotted over 3 million acres from their Reservations. In comparison, during the fiscal years 1929-1932, the 4 years immediately following the publication of 'The Problem of Indian Administration,' a little over 2,800 Native Americans were allotted less than 500,000 acres.”
Within five years of the Report, the policy of allotment was abandoned altogether. On June 18, 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
signed the Indian Reorganization Act
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives...
into law. This new act ended allotment and permitted tribes to organize their own governments and to incorporate their trust lands communally.
Further reading
- Child, Brenda J (2000). Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families. LincolnLincoln, NebraskaThe City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
: U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803264052. - Olson, James S. and Raymond Wilson (1984). Native Americans in the Twentieth Century. ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
: U of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0252012853.
External links
- 1928 Meriam Report, full text online, hosted at Alaskool.org