- Indians have a right to live as Indians.
With the Wounded Knee massacre as a turning point, Indians became part of the United States by 1900 after going through the enactment of Indian migration laws, formation of countless treaties, massacres, and wars. Indians, their system, and culture got adjusted to changing environments undergoing changes in various ways. However, they firmly refused to disappear completely or absorb into the American political system in addressing problems arising from their independence.
Meanwhile, the US government found through the 1928 Meriam report that most Indians preferred to remain Indian contrary to their expectations. As a result, the US government strengthened its assimilation policy employing every possible means to end the Indians problem and adhered to the position that Indians should be incorporated into the mainstream as early as possible, instead of addressing more urgent issues in the Indian reservations including problems of poor living conditions, poverty and unemployment.