Citizenship, often seen as a gateway to rights and belonging, carried a very different meaning for many Indigenous peoples. In “Citizenship Not Wanted, but Received,” Miami University faculty Thomas Misco and Brian Schultz, along with MAT student Estevan Molina,  examine how the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act—which granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S.—was less a gift of inclusion than a tool of assimilation and colonization. Many Native nations, such as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, formally rejected U.S. citizenship, viewing it as a violation of their sovereignty and treaty rights.

The authors trace how U.S. policies framed citizenship as a “civilizing” force—encouraging Indigenous people to abandon tribal ties and adopt Western norms. Through historical cases like Elk v. Wilkins (1884) and the Snyder Act of 1924, they reveal that the promise of equality often masked an effort to erase Native identity. This history connects to broader patterns of forced assimilation—from the Trail of Tears to contemporary debates about Indigenous nationalism, which prioritizes allegiance to one’s Native nation over the United States.

By unpacking these complex legacies, Misco and his colleagues invite educators and students to rethink what citizenship really means—and to recognize that, for many Native Americans, it was “not wanted, but received.”

Faculty authors: Thomas Misco and Brian Schultz, Miami University
Student author: Estevan Molina, MAT
Keywords: Indigenous nationalism, Native American citizenship, assimilation, Indian Citizenship Act 1924, U.S. colonization
Publication details: The Social Studies, Vol. 112, No. 1 (2021), pp. 46–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2020.1794772