Disadvantages of Native Americans
One way the Federal government tried to relieve the nations swelling unemployment rate was by creating special, federally funded programs that can offer jobs to the desperate public. The federal government quickly launched plans to begin construction of dams throughout the nation like the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Much like the TVA in the southern states, the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam on the Colorado River also created jobs for the unemployed but also left a certain group disadvantaged.
These jobs were of great relief to those who were able to get them but the construction of the dam had destructive consequences for the Native American reservations living in the region and whose livelihood greatly depended on the river. This Colorado Dam created irrigation canals for most of the Western states but did not do so for the surrounding reservations and it also destroyed reservation’s herding, fishing and hunting grounds. Also,the federal decision to reduce crops and livestock applied to reservation lands which made the people of the reservation suffer.
In his 1934 article, "Indians at Work," John Collier gives a descriptive account for how the Navajo Reservation was affected by the dam. The dam changed the surrounding environment that the Navajo lived on and used for crops and livestock. Collier writes that “[the] reservoir's rate of silting has been computed upon a static erosion rate which is but a fraction of the present and speeding-up rate…the soil of the Navajo reservation is hurriedly being washed away into the Colorado river.” This land was vital to their people because it was what fed their cattle and it was where they grew their food. The new flow of the river produced silt,sandy dirt, and their vegetation couldn't grow under this condition. The land reserved for, set aside,granted to these people was destroyed due to the river being channeled to Southern California, New Mexico, and Arizona but none to the regional reservations. The dam also diminished the salmon population since they're path upstream,during mating season, was blocked.
The Department of Agriculture acknowledged the problem but ultimately concluded that it was because of overgrazing, too many animals eating the vegetation, and offered another devasting solution. The solution was to kill a portion of their livestock to reduce the effects of grazing. Collier writes that the “Mandatory sheep and goat reduction, mandatory range control, federal dominance over the Navajos' present and future program, are already possible in law and might be justified from the standpoint of national necessity” but did not benefit the people living directly off of the livestock. Ultimately, this solution “called for the immediate sacrifice of 50,000 Navajo goats, and for coordinate adjustments that will cut the total of Navajo flocks by much more than one third. The cost of this latest stock reduction will be $225,000; the government does not undertake to pay the bill”. Sadly, the Navajo people’s entire food source was injured because of federally mandated reductions (3).
These jobs were of great relief to those who were able to get them but the construction of the dam had destructive consequences for the Native American reservations living in the region and whose livelihood greatly depended on the river. This Colorado Dam created irrigation canals for most of the Western states but did not do so for the surrounding reservations and it also destroyed reservation’s herding, fishing and hunting grounds. Also,the federal decision to reduce crops and livestock applied to reservation lands which made the people of the reservation suffer.
In his 1934 article, "Indians at Work," John Collier gives a descriptive account for how the Navajo Reservation was affected by the dam. The dam changed the surrounding environment that the Navajo lived on and used for crops and livestock. Collier writes that “[the] reservoir's rate of silting has been computed upon a static erosion rate which is but a fraction of the present and speeding-up rate…the soil of the Navajo reservation is hurriedly being washed away into the Colorado river.” This land was vital to their people because it was what fed their cattle and it was where they grew their food. The new flow of the river produced silt,sandy dirt, and their vegetation couldn't grow under this condition. The land reserved for, set aside,granted to these people was destroyed due to the river being channeled to Southern California, New Mexico, and Arizona but none to the regional reservations. The dam also diminished the salmon population since they're path upstream,during mating season, was blocked.
The Department of Agriculture acknowledged the problem but ultimately concluded that it was because of overgrazing, too many animals eating the vegetation, and offered another devasting solution. The solution was to kill a portion of their livestock to reduce the effects of grazing. Collier writes that the “Mandatory sheep and goat reduction, mandatory range control, federal dominance over the Navajos' present and future program, are already possible in law and might be justified from the standpoint of national necessity” but did not benefit the people living directly off of the livestock. Ultimately, this solution “called for the immediate sacrifice of 50,000 Navajo goats, and for coordinate adjustments that will cut the total of Navajo flocks by much more than one third. The cost of this latest stock reduction will be $225,000; the government does not undertake to pay the bill”. Sadly, the Navajo people’s entire food source was injured because of federally mandated reductions (3).
