Indian colony

An Indian colony is a Native American settlement associated with an urban area. Although some of them become official Indian reservations, they differ from most reservations in that they are placed where Native Americans could find employment in mainstream American economy. Many were originally formed without federal encouragement or sanction.

This article is about urban Aboriginal American settlements in the United States. For European colonies in India, see European colonies in India. For settlements of Indians outside of India, see Indian diaspora.
Not to be confused with Urban Indian reserve or Little India.

Locations and establishment

Indian colonies are especially common in Nevada. As the Great Basin ecosystem is very fragile, native lifeways became untenable soon after white settlement due to livestock over-grazing, water diversions and the felling of Pinyon pine groves. At that time there were few official reservations in the area, and those were terribly run even by contemporary standards. Many Native Americans chose instead to seek jobs in white ranches, farms and cities. The areas in which they settled became known as Indian Camps or Colonies. In some cases they owned the land they settled on, in other cases they settled on public land. Starting in the early twentieth century, the federal government began establishing Indian trust territories for the colonies on public land.

Following the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, many of the Indian colonies gained federal recognition as tribes. Many of the tribes formed this way are unusual in that they include members from different nations. For example, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony has members with Washoe, Paiute and Shoshone heritage.

Examples

The following is an incomplete list of Indian Colonies in the United States:

Indian ColonyGroup
Battle Mountain, Nevada Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada, Battle Mountain Band
Burns, Oregon Burns Paiute Indian Colony
Bridgeport, California Bridgeport Paiute Indian Colony of California
Carson City, Nevada Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Carson Community Council
Dresslerville, Nevada Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Dresslerville Council
Elko, Nevada Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada, Elko Band
Ely, Nevada Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada
Fallon, Nevada Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians of the Las Vegas Indian Colony
Lovelock, Nevada Lovelock Paiute Tribe of the Lovelock Indian Colony
Reno, Nevada Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
Carson City, Nevada Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Stewart Community Council[1]
Wells, Nevada Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada, Wells Band
Winnemucca, Nevada Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada
Woodfords, California Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Woodfords Community Council
Yerington, Nevada Yerington Paiute Tribe of the Yerington Colony and Campbell Ranch

See also

References
  1. "Stewart Community." Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California. (retrieved 8 Dec 2009)
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