The Indian Rights Association (IRA) was a social activist group dedicated to the well-being and acculturation of
Native Americans in the United States. Founded by non-Indians in
Philadelphia in 1882, the group was highly influential in American Indian policy through the 1930s and remained an organization until 1994. The organization's initial objective was to "bring about the complete civilization of the Indians and their admission to citizenship."
The organization was founded in 1883 by
Herbert Welsh
Herbert Welsh (1851 - 1941) was a United States political reformer and worker for the welfare of the indigenous peoples of North America.
Biography
Herbert Welsh was born in Philadelphia, the youngest of 8 children of John Welsh, a prosperous mer ...
and
Henry Spackman Pancoast after they traveled with an Episcopal mission to the
Dakota Territory in 1882 and spent four weeks with the Sioux agencies. In 1884 they opened an additional office in
Washington, D.C., to act as a legislative lobby and liaison with the
Board of Indian Commissioners The Board of Indian Commissioners was a committee that advised the federal government of the United States on Native American policy and inspected supplies delivered to Indian agencies to ensure the fulfillment of government treaty obligations.
Hi ...
and the
Board of Indian Affairs. The IRA also opened an early office in
Boston, Massachusetts. The management of early Indian Rights Association's programs fell almost entirely to five men, all of whom had lengthy careers with the IRA:
Herbert Welsh
Herbert Welsh (1851 - 1941) was a United States political reformer and worker for the welfare of the indigenous peoples of North America.
Biography
Herbert Welsh was born in Philadelphia, the youngest of 8 children of John Welsh, a prosperous mer ...
,
Matthew Sniffen
Matthew K. Sniffen was an American activist. He worked for the Indian Rights Association and wrote about issues affecting Native Americans.
Biography
In 1908, Sniffen testified before the United States Congress about the Crow Reservation having ...
, and
Lawrence E. Lindley, active in Philadelphia; and
Charles C. Painter and
Samuel M. Brosius, agents and lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
In addition to efforts on policy development and congressional lobbying, the Indian Rights Association monitored the actions of
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...
agents and observed Native American living conditions and health care needs through correspondence and trips to reservations and settlements. They also sponsored speaking tours for activists and Indian representatives to inform the public about native issues. The
Unitarian minister and journalist
Jonathan Baxter Harrison was an influential observer, publishing several books and articles detailing his findings in the late 1880s.
The Indian Rights Association in British Columbia
In 1909, a different organization of the same name formed in British Columbia, Canada. The Indian Rights Association in BC was a coalition of Indigenous leaders fighting to protect Aboriginal titles.
Publications
*Harrison, Jonathan Baxter. ''The latest studies on Indian reservations'', Philadelphia: The Indian Rights Association 1887.
*Harrison, Jonathan Baxter. ''The colleges and the Indians, and the Indian Rights Association'', Philadelphia: The Indian Rights Association 1888.
*Pancoast, Henry Spackman. ''The Indian Before the Law'', Philadelphia: The Indian Rights Association 1884.
*Welsh, Herbert.
The Action of the Interior Department in Forcing the Standing Rock Indians to Lease Their Lands to Cattle Syndicates', Philadelphia: The Indian Rights Association 1902.
References
{{Reflist
Further reading
by William T. Hagan, University of Arizona Press (1985)
External links
*Th
Indian Rights Association Records including correspondence, organizational records, photographs, and other printed materials, are available for research use at the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
1882 establishments in Pennsylvania
1994 disestablishments in Pennsylvania
Native American rights organizations
Organizations disestablished in 1994
Organizations established in 1882