The Code of Indian Offenses
1883 body of legislation in the United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Code of Indian Offenses was an 1883 body of legislation in the United States that, along with other legislation, restricted the religious and cultural ceremonies of Native American tribes.
A major objective of US relations with Native American tribes in the late nineteenth century was cultural assimilation. In 1883 the Code of Indian Offenses, a body of legislation with the intent of bringing tribes to a white standard of culture and religious practice, was written into law. The Code of Indian Offenses enabled the creation of the Courts of Indian Offenses, which operated under the jurisdiction of U.S. government agents assigned to reservations, allowing them to interfere in Native American criminal justice. The Code of Indian Offenses, along with other legislation, restricted the religious and cultural practices of Native American people.
Henry M. Teller, a lawyer and general of the Colorado militia, was heavily involved in Indian affairs over the course of his political career.[1] He wrote a letter that urged the formation of the Code of Indian Offenses, in which he highlighted what he felt were worrisome aspects of the Natives and their traditions, including: religious and ceremonial dances, "medicine man" practices, plural marriage, funeral rites, giving money in marriage agreements, ritual gift-giving, and alcohol on the reservations.