COLLIER, JOHN

John Collier (May 4, 1884–May 8, 1968) was commissioner of Indian affairs from 1933 to 1945. Collier championed Native American concerns and advocated legislation under the New Deal banner to alleviate their suffering. Serving under Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes, Collier, an astute promoter and publicist, held the commissionership of Indian affairs for twelve years, the longest reign in that division's history. During that time, a new concept of self-government emerged that delineated the federal government's approach to American Indian policy and forever changed the way Native Americans defined themselves.

A reformer of federal policy toward Native Americans, Collier was born in Atlanta, Georgia.

He graduated from Atlanta High School, studied at Columbia University, worked as civic secretary of the People's Institute in New York City, edited the Civil Journal, which sanctioned progressive urban reform, and established the Home School, a utopian experiment saturated with John Dewey's theories. After watching Native American dances at Taos, New Mexico, in 1920, Collier recognized the importance of preserving tribal life. He taught sociology at San Francisco State College in the early 1920s and then accepted an appointment as research agent for the Indian Welfare Committee of the General Federation of Women's Clubs. Opposed to the Bursum Bill, named for U.S. Senator Holm O. Bursum of New Mexico, which would have terminated Pueblo water and land rights without proper remuneration, Collier successfully campaigned for its defeat. In 1923, one year before Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act, Collier organized and began serving as executive secretary of the American Indian Defense Association.

A lobbyist in the nation's capital for a decade, Collier promulgated his views in various ways. He favored the termination of the land allotment system, supported the revamping of the Indian Bureau in an attempt to improve services and avoid mismanagement, and advocated the cognizance and freedom of Native American cultures and the right of self-rule. Collier urged federal credit for reservations, accepted Native religious independence, endorsed the Indian Oil Act of 1927, wrote essays for American Indian Life, and emphasized the necessity for conserving tribal resources.

Collier's criticisms forced the Interior Department under Secretary Hubert Work and Indian Affairs Commissioner Charles Henry Burke to request an outside organization, the Brookings Institution, to examine the Indian Bureau. A task force led by Lewis Meriam submitted a report, The Problem of Indian Administration, issued in 1928. It concurred with some of Collier's suggestions, recommended an increase in federal appropriations for Native Americans, and proposed ending land allotment. Touring western reservations to investigate Native American living conditions and criticizing Interior Department officials under Secretary Ray L. Wilbur for not implementing the Meriam Report, Collier kept himself visible and vocal during President Herbert Hoover's administration.

In April 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt selected Collier to serve as commissioner of Indian affairs. With this appointment, Roosevelt offered a New Deal to Native Americans and provided Collier, who had an ally in First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, with the opportunity to put his ideas into practice. Almost immediately changes occurred for Native Americans. Collier approved congressional legislation to compensate Pueblos whose lands had been lost to encroaching white settlers. He encouraged the dissolution of the Board of Indian Commissioners, ended the selling of Native trust land, and by limiting missionary work at Native American schools, he affirmed the right of freedom of religion for native peoples. Active in advancing Native American education and civil liberties, Collier surfaced as a dedicated and competent public official during the Great Depression.

The most important piece of Native American legislation that passed Congress under Collier's stewardship was the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, which marked a major turning point in the relationship between Native Americans and the United States government. It signaled a fundamental reversal of federal policy. Instead of forcing Native Americans to forsake their traditions for new lives on farms or cities, the 1934 act, also known as the Wheeler-Howard Bill, conceded their right to exist as a separate culture. Tribes were allowed to form their own governments, and reservations continued to be strongholds of Native identity. The main provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act were to restore to Native Americans management of their assets, prevent further depletion of reservation resources, build a sound economic foundation for the people of the reservations, and return to Native Americans local self-government on a tribal basis. The measure also established federal revolving credit to foster economic development and scholarships to encourage education. Government officials vigorously pursued the objectives of the bill until the outbreak of World War II.

Other reforms in Collier's New Deal for Native Americans included the creation in 1935 of an Indian Arts and Crafts Board within the Interior Department to market the production and distribution of Native goods. The Johnson-O'Malley Act of 1934 offered general federal assistance to some Native American students to attend public schools and permitted the Indian Office to contract with the states to provide education, health, and welfare services to Natives on reservations within their borders. The Indian Civilian Conservation Corps enlisted Natives in relief programs. Collier also secured funds for Native service activities from the Public Works Administration. In fact, New Deal agencies funded 29 percent of Native service expenditures in 1934.

Despite his lofty aspirations, Collier frequently suffered setbacks. He met with native opposition to certain regulations and proposals and encountered criticism from Congress. Secretary of War Henry Stimson repudiated Collier's suggestion that the government create separate Native American military units for wartime purposes, preferring an integrated service during World War II. These and other problems enveloped Collier at times during his tenure.

Collier envisioned a time when Native American tribes would have their own governmental institutions to replace the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He believed that consolidation of individual and communal land under a tribal government was the means by which to achieve this independence. Puzzled by the lack of native support for the Indian Reorganization Act, Collier learned that his plans for consolidation offended tribes who had come to value personal ownership of land, some of whom angrily accused the commissioner of communism.

Following his resignation as commissioner of Indian affairs in January 1945, three months prior to the death of President Roosevelt, Collier became president of the Institute of Ethnic Affairs in Washington, D. C. Later he taught sociology and anthropology at the City College of New York, pursued research on Native America, and wrote newspaper columns. In 1964 Collier received a distinguished service award from the Interior Department headed by Stewart L. Udall. Collier died in Taos, New Mexico, having left a significant impression on government relations with Native Americans during the Great Depression.

COLLIER, JOHN

BIBLIOGRAPHY