Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975

Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975

Long title	An Act to provide maximum Indian participation in the government and education of the Indian people; to provide for the full participation of Indian tribes in programs and services conducted by the Federal Government for Indians and to encourage the development of human resources of the Indian people; to establish a program of assistance to upgrade Indian education; to support the right of Indian citizens to control their own educational activities; and for other purposes.
Nicknames	Indian Educational Reform Act
Citations
Public law	93-638
Statutes at Large	88 Stat. 2203
Codification
Titles amended	25 U.S.C.: Indians
U.S.C. sections created	25 U.S.C. ch. 14, subch. II § 450 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 1017 by Henry M. Jackson (D-WA) on February 26, 1973 Committee consideration by Senate Interior and Insular Affairs, House Interior and Insular Affairs Passed the Senate on April 1, 1974 (Passed) Passed the House on December 19, 1974 (Passed) with amendment Senate agreed to House amendment on December 19, 1974 (Agreed) Signed into law by President Gerald R. Ford on January 4, 1975

The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (Public Law 93-638) authorized the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, and some other government agencies to enter into contracts with, and make grants directly to, federally recognized Indian tribes. The tribes would have authority for how they administered the funds, which gave them greater control over their welfare. The ISDEAA is codified at Title 25, United States Code, beginning at section 450.

Signed into law on January 4, 1975, the ISDEAA made self-determination the focus of government action. The Act reversed a 30-year effort by the federal government under its preceding termination policy to sever treaty relationships with and obligations to Indian tribes. The Act was the result of 15 years of change, influenced by American Indian activism, the Civil Rights Movement, and community development based on grassroots political participation.

The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934 was an early step in the renewal of tribal self-governance, in the forms of creation of constitutions and employment of counsel. The IRA was somewhat limited, as all tribal actions were subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior (via the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)).

In the 1950s some members of Congress passed legislation to renew the effort to have Native Americans assimilate, and to terminate the special relationship between the federal government and tribal nations. The government sought to terminate the legal standing of numerous tribes, judging their members ready to be independent US citizens. More than 100 tribes and communities were terminated. For more on Termination, please see Indian termination policy.

The failure of termination policies became obvious with assessment by the late 1960s. Native Americans and the federal government began to work for a return to greater Indian rights represented by the earlier IRA. The passage of the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 (ICRA) was influential. ICRA guaranteed the application of much of the Bill of Rights in Indian Country, a guarantee which Native Americans on reservations had not enjoyed.

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