Monday, June 18, 1934

Aunt Kate and Helen came here. Helen and I went swimming as Grove opened today. They ate supper here.

Indian Reorganization Act

The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934, sometimes known as the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to  Native Americans (known in law as American Indians or Indians), including Alaska Natives.

These include actions that contributed to the reversal of the Dawes Act's privatization of communal holdings of American Indian tribes and a return to local self-government on a tribal basis. The Act also restored to Indians the management of their assets (being mainly land) and included provisions intended to create a sound economic foundation for the inhabitants of Indian reservations.

The act did not require tribes to adopt a constitution. But, when a tribe chose to do so, the constitution had to:
1.allow the tribal council to employ legal counsel;
2.prohibit the tribal council from engaging in any land transactions without majority approval of the tribe; and,
3.authorize the tribal council to negotiate with the Federal, State, and local governments.