#trivia #NativeAmerican #boardingschool #votingrights

The U. S. Department of the Interior just released a study of the almost 500 “Indian Boarding Schools” that operated from 1819 to 1969, including the Carlisle Indian Industry School here in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Over 7,000 children attended this school; its most famous student was Jim Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, who won two gold medals in the 1912 Olympic games.

Most of the reporters I’ve heard have also mentioned how long it took for Native Americans to be able to vote. Most of them have also given their readers/viewers incomplete information.

So I’ve got a trivia question for you:

Who was President of the United States when all Native Americans were allowed to vote?

A.) Dwight D. Eisenhower

B.) Theodore Roosevelt

C.) Richard M. Nixon

D.) Calvin Coolidge

No peeking now—just give it your best shot! C’mon, you can do it! Got it? Made your choice?

The correct answer is C, Richard M. Nixon.

Surprised?

Here’s the history behind it: In 1906 (Theodore Roosevelt), the Burke Act granted citizenship to Native Americans who farmed their own land and lived off the reservations, and in 1924, The Indian Citizenship Act (Calvin Coolidge) granted all Native Americans citizenship. However, many states did not recognize these acts as granting voting rights because, at that time, the Constitution gave each individual state the right to decide who is eligible to vote. As they did with African-Americans, many states passed requirements like poll taxes and literacy tests in order to prevent Native Americans from voting.

In 1957, under Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Solicitor General took action to ensure that the States removed these impediments, and that year is usually referenced as the year voting rights were given to all Native Americans. However, discrimination persisted in Colorado, where any tribal member who lived on a reservation was not allowed to vote until 1970, when President Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.