Tuesday Open Line


On this date 91 years ago, Congress passed — and President Coolidge signed — the Indian Citizenship Act, which stated “all noncitizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby declared to be, citizens of the United States: Provided that the granting of such citizenship shall not in any manner impair or otherwise affect the right of any Indian to tribal or other property.” Prior to this act, about two-thirds of American Indians were already citizens by other provisions. Universal voting rights lagged until 1957, as various state laws were amended. Today, there are over 2 million single-race American Indians possessing this full citizenship and 566 federally recognized tribes. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.