Continuity

Continuity. . , Toward the end of the 19th Century, the U.S. government decided that Native Americans should integrate into American culture and give up tribal sovereignty. , The Dawes Allotment Act forced Native Americans to register on what became known as the Dawes Rolls and did away with tribal land ownership in favor of private land ownership. The Curtis Act of 1898 vanquished Chickasaw tribal sovereignty and required the President of the United States to appoint tribal leaders. , The Chickasaw persisted and maintained their traditional activities and kept their language alive. They advocated the right of the Chickasaw to govern themselves., The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 guaranteed civil rights to indigenous people and public law 91-495 restored the right of the tribe to hold general elections. In 1971, Governor Overton James became the first elected governor of Chickasaw since 1904. The Chickasaw adopted a new constitution, ratified by the U.S. in 1983., [Captions:] , John Herrington was the first member of a Native American tribe to travel in space when he accompanied the space shuttle Endeavor to deliver the Expedition 6 crew and a new part to the International Space Station., Te Ata, Mary Frances Thompson in 1895, was a Chickasaw actress and storyteller. She traveled the country collecting and performing Native American songs and stories. Ove her 60-year career, Te Ata collected hundreds of stories. Her career is remembered in the Judy Lee Oliva play, Te Ata, and a film of the same name, released in October 2017 by the Chickasaw Nation.