American Indian Culture and Research Journal

American Indians have never played a viable role in the political arena of the United States. They have never been afforded the socio-economic strength by Anglo-American society to establish a powerful political base. This essay, then, will provide an explanation of why political power has eluded American Indians and what chance they have in becoming a participating and policy-making force in mainstream American society. The crux of the problem of Indian-White relationships in the United States seems to lie in two opposing visions of what American society should be. The first of these, the melting pot vision, assumed the assimilation of people of diverse cultures into a single homogeneous society, generally dedicated to Judeo-Christian religion, republican government and financial opportunity. That vision of American society, implicit from the time of the American Revolution and popularized in 1908 by Israel Zangwill's enormously successful play "The Melting Pot," was taught in the schools and was the dominant ideal through the 1950s. The second vision of American society, that of the cultural pluralists, was one in which diverse cultures were to coexist in peace and mutual respect under a common national government. Ethnic minorities from Europe, such as the Germans, Irish, Italians, Jews and Poles, achieved early political success in the United States because they tended to accept the process of assimilation. They came to America willing to change their languages and their lifestyles in order to become participating members of the newly created nation. However, with the exception of the Jewish immigrants, they already shared the Christian faith and linguistic roots with the society they entered. In addition they often sought representative government and economic opportunity. Jews, though they shared religious roots with Christians, found assimilation more difficult, but they had achieved local political power as early as the 1930s. Even Blacks, culturally if not racially assimilated, have been more successful since the 1960s in affecting American policy than have American Indians.