Termination Policy

A 1943 survey of reservations throughout the U.S. showed the extreme poverty of much of the Indian population. The BIA and others were blamed for mismanagement of their affairs. The U.S. government decided the best solution at that time was to completely assimilate Native Americans into the general population. This policy became known as the Termination Policy. From 1953-1964, 109 tribes were terminated and federal responsibility and jurisdiction was turned over to state governments. Approximately 2,500,000 acres of trust land was removed from protected status and 12,000 Native Americans lost tribal affiliation. The lands were sold to non-Indians and those tribes lost official recognition by the U.S. government.

Luckily, a bill to terminate the Chickasaw and the other Five Civilized Tribes was not drafted until 1958. By that time, termination was being viewed dimly by many Congressmen and the bill was voted down.