House Concurrent Resolution 108: "to end their status as wards" (Washington, D.C., 1 Aug. 1953)

SUMMARY23. House Concurrent Resolution 108: "to end their status as wards" (Washington, D.C., 1 Aug. 1953) [Connections: Who decided who's Indian, Nov 5, 2026]

RECORD"Whereas it is the policy of Congress, as rapidly as possible, to make the Indians within the territorial limits of the United States subject to the same laws and entitled to the same privileges and responsibilities as are applicable to other citizens of the United States, to end their status as wards of the United States, and to grant them all of the rights and prerogatives pertaining to American citizenship." It named all tribes in California, Florida, New York and Texas, plus "the Flathead Tribe of Montana, the Klamath Tribe of Oregon, the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, the Potowatamie Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and those members of the Chippewa Tribe who are on the Turtle Mountain Reservation." Passed 1 Aug. 1953 (67 Stat. B132)

PATTERNFlorida was named, so every federally served nation in Florida was a target. Termination was a second way to write people out: not by race label, but by declaring them no longer federal "Indians."

LENS (WW9)First they renamed people "colored"; then they tried to erase "Indian" as a legal status itself

OPENWhich Florida nations were actually terminated vs. spared (the Seminole were not terminated; confirm with a fetched source)

SOURCEStatutes at Large, 67 Stat. B132 (GovInfo PDF).