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Indian Reorganization Act (1934)
New Deal legislation championed by Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier that reversed the Dawes Act of 1887, which had broken up communally-held tribal land into individual allotments. The 1934 Act restored some tribal land, allowed tribes to adopt their own constitutions, and recognised a degree of tribal self-government. It is regarded as the most beneficial New Deal policy for any marginalised group, though poverty on reservations remained severe throughout the Depression.
New Deal
A series of programmes, public works projects, financial reforms, and regulations introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1939 in response to the Great Depression. Key agencies included the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA), and the Social Security Administration. The New Deal expanded the federal government's role in the economy and established the principle that government bore responsibility for citizens' basic welfare.