We Are Not a Vanishing People: The Society of American Indians, 1911-1923

The Society of American Indians (SAI) was founded in 1911 by Native American intellectuals and activists to promote reform and fight for U.S. citizenship and quality education. They used protest and activism to challenge stereotypes and the vanishing people trope, but faced racism, negative stereotyping, and an indifferent federal bureaucracy. Despite these challenges, they were able to bring Indian issues before the American public and challenge stereotypes.

Format: Hardback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 01 June 2021
Publisher: University of Arizona Press

In 1911, a group of Native American intellectuals and activists came together to establish the Society of American Indians (SAI), a nationwide organization dedicated to reform. The SAI used a strategy of protest and activism that carried into the rest of the twentieth century, with prominent members including Charles A. Eastman (Dakota), Arthur Parker (Seneca), Carlos Montezuma (Yavapai), Zitkala-Ša (Yankton Sioux), and Sherman Coolidge (Peoria). They fought for U.S. citizenship and quality education, believing these tools would allow Indigenous people to function in the modern world without surrendering their identity. They believed this could be accomplished by removing government controls over Indian life. Historian Thomas Constantine Maroukis discusses the goals, strategies, successes, and failures of the Indigenous intellectuals who came together to form the SAI. They engaged in lobbying, producing publications, informing the media, hundreds of speaking engagements, and annual conferences to argue for reform. However, the forces of this era were against reforming federal policies, and the group faced racism, negative stereotyping, and an indifferent federal bureaucracy. They were also beset by internal struggles, which weakened the organization. This work sheds new light on the origins of modern protest in the twentieth century, and it shows how the intellectuals and activists associated with the SAI were able to bring Indian issues before the American public, challenging stereotypes and the "vanishing people" trope. Maroukis argues that the SAI was not an assimilationist organization; they were political activists trying to free Indians from government control.

Weight: 530g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780816542277