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Dissertation Information for Steven C. Schulte

NAME:
- Steven C. Schulte

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- University of Wyoming (USA) (1984)

ADVISORS:
- Peter Iverson

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Lawrence A. Cardoso
- Herbert R. Dieterich

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: INDIAN AND WHITE POLITICS IN THE MODERN WEST: SIOUX AND WHITE LEADERSHIP IN SOUTH DAKOTA, 1920-1965

Abstract: In contrast to most historical studies of Indian policy which concentrate upon the evolution of federal legislation and its implementation, this study examines the relationship between Western American politicians and Native Americans using the South Dakota experience as a case study.

An analysis of interaction between white politicians and Sioux Indian leaders offers revealing insights into the major issues facing the modern Sioux. In the early decades of the twentieth century, politicians worked to divide and undermine traditional Sioux leadership, damaging their ability to resist further encroachments upon tribal sovereignty. White politicians learned to skillfully "use" Indian issues to augment their standing with white constituents. South Dakota politicians played significant roles in devising federal Indian policy in the twentieth century. The programs they advocated, however, tended to work against the best interests of the Indians while providing for the greater benefit of white constituents. To politicians, the politics of Indian policy could often be reduced to simple numbers; Indians remained by far in the minority in South Dakota's population. But cultural differences were equally influential in determining Indian policies advocated by South Dakota politicians. They advocated Indian policies conditioned by a worldview which stressed the values associated with private enterprise, assimilation into the dominant society, and a faith in rugged frontier individualism.

Following the 1930s and the Indian New Deal, a "revolution" in Sioux leadership occurred which caused a change in Indian-politician interaction. An increasingly skilled Sioux leadership began to resist white encroachments upon tribal land and resources. Leaders attempted to implement positive programs which fought racial discrimination and increased tribal control over Sioux political destiny. The revolution in Sioux leadership forever altered the relationship between Sioux and white leaders in South Dakota. Whites learned they could no longer exploit Indians in an overt manner. Sioux leaders became aware that they could not depend upon white politicians to look after tribal interests. It was in this latter realization that the hope and promise of Sioux leadership began to flourish.

MPACT Scores for Steven C. Schulte

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2010-06-22 12:57:42

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