| Year | Act | Effect |
| 1789 | Federal Constitution | Provided authority to negotiate treaties with
Indian nations |
| 1824 | Creation of BIA | Created Bureau of Indian Affairs within the War Department |
| 1830 | Indian Removal Act | Relocated all Indians west of the Mississippi River thus opening up former Indian lands along the East Coast for white colonization |
| 1834 | Trade and Intercourse Act | Regulated access of whites to Indian lands west of the Mississippi. Emphasis was on a trade relationship with Indian Nations |
| 1849 | Creation of the Dept. of Interior | Transferred the BIA to the dept. of Interior because the Indian Nations were now viewed as a natural resource |
| 1871 | Termination of Treaty Negotiation | Directed that Indian Nations were not really nations and therefore should not be interacted with via treaty. All previous treaties were to be honored. |
| 1887 | General Allotment Act (Dawes Act) | Stated objective was to assimilate Indians by making them small farmers. After each Indian received the allotted acreage, leftover Indian land was opened up for homesteading. |
| 1924 | Indian Citizenship Act | Gave Indian Americans U.S. citizenship |
| 1934 | Indian Reorganization Act (Wheeler-Howard Act) | Intended to stop assimilation by strengthening tribal governments and to protect Indian lands by placing them in trust. |
| 1946 | 1946 | Indian Claims Commission Created the commission to redress cased of fraud and negligence by the U. S. in land transactions with Indian Nations |
| 1953 | House Concurrent Resolution 108 (Termination) | Intended to encourage the assimilation of Indians into the American mainstream by terminating federal responsibility (treaty rights) for specific tribes. |
| 1953 | Public Law 180 | Gave states the authority to assume legal jurisdication, both civil and criminal, on Indian reservations. |
| 1968 | Indian Civil Rights Act | Extended the basic civil right contained in the Bill of Rights to Indian reservations, where tribal law still holds jurisdiction |
| 1971 | Alaskan Native Claims Settlement Act | Settled Indian and Alaskan Native land claims by awarding India and Alaskan native groups 40 million acres of land and a large financial settlement |
| 1975 | Public Law 93-580 | American Indian Policy Review Established a commission to study the Federal governmentÕs relationship with Indian Americans and to make legislative recommendations to Congress |
| 1975 | Public Law 93-638 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act | Allowed tribes to assume responsibility for managing all services provided by the Federal Government. |
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