Building reservation economies: American Indian agriculture 1858–1925

Between 1858 and 1925 agricultural development on American Indian reservations was considered a 'civilising' step in the progress toward self-support and eventual termination of federal trust-American Indian responsibilities. By 1928, however, agricultural efforts, federal benefits, treaty benefits and tribal funds, and efforts exerted by American Indians on their reservation farms and gardens were considered as failures. 'Failure' is a limited concept because federal authorities did not enumerate the tens of thousands of hours of sweat equity contributed by American Indians. A comprehensive review of the data used in a seminal federal report published in 1928 reveals the weakness of the federal efforts to promote reservation agriculture, the strengths of American Indian efforts, and accounts for the hard work, weather and conditions, and other agents that affected development of American Indian reservation agriculture.