Society of American Indians

The Society of American Indians (1911–1923) was the first national American Indian rights organization run by and for American Indians. The Society pioneered twentieth century Pan-Indianism, the movement promoting unity among American Indians regardless of tribal affiliation. The Society was a forum for a new generation of American Indian leaders known as Red Progressives, prominent professionals from the fields of medicine, nursing, law, government, education, anthropology and ministry. They shared the enthusiasm and faith of Progressive Era white reformers in the inevitability of progress through education and governmental action.

The Society met at academic institutions, maintained a Washington, D.C. headquarters, conducted annual conferences and published a quarterly journal of American Indian literature by American Indian authors. The Society was one of the first proponents of an "American Indian Day." It was at the forefront of the fight for Indian citizenship and opening the U.S. Court of Claims to all tribes and bands in United States. The Indian Citizenship Law, signed on June 2, 1924, was a major achievement for the Society. The Society anticipated by decades the establishment of a federal Indian Claims Commission in 1946 to hear claims of Indian tribes against the United States. In 1978 such cases were transferred to the U.S. Court of Claims. The Society of American Indians was the forerunner of modern organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians.

The Carlisle Indian School and the Hampton Institute, off-reservation Eastern boarding schools, were well-springs of Pan-Indian leadership. The most significant legacy of the Carlisle Indian School may have been the connections established by the students. Lifelong friendships were formed, and more importantly, ties between disparate Indian nations were forged. Launched in the hopes of Americanizing the students, the mixing of 85 Indian nations from all parts of the country also had instead the effect of "nationalizing the Indian." Dr. Carlos Montezuma described Carlisle "as a Gibraltor, a place to think, observe and decide." American Indian students from Alaska to Florida represented a rich diversity of tribes and traditions. While students learned Euro-American customs, they also learned about other tribes and religions and how each tribe was subject to irrational and casual dealings by government. Carlisle alumni across the nation maintained a Pan-Indian espirit de corps and they visited and communicated frequently.

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