Kate and Sue McBeth, Missionary Teachers to the Nez Perce

U.S. Indian Policy

Beginning in 1805 with Lewis and Clark, who promoted peace between all tribes and the establishment of trade relations, U.S. Indian policies have shaped the lives of all native peoples. Indian policy continually evolved, and it is interesting to compare the agents changing views on the effects of white interaction with his charges. Early reports abhor the "undesirables" who overrun the reservation and supply whisky to Indians; when allotment became the favored policy, whites were presented as role models to speed the acculturation process.