---
title: "Indian Relocation Policy | Native American Studies"
description: "Indian Relocation Policy was a 1950s federal effort to move Native Americans into cities for work, often causing discrimination, housing problems, and cultural loss."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/hs-native-american-studies/key-terms/indian-relocation-policy"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Native American Studies"
unit: "Unit 18"
---

# Indian Relocation Policy | Native American Studies

## Definition

Indian Relocation Policy was a U.S. effort to move Native Americans from reservations into cities for jobs and “integration.” In Native American Studies, it is studied as a policy tied to urban migration, assimilation, and new forms of community support.

## What It Is

Indian Relocation Policy is the federal push, especially in the 1950s, to encourage Native Americans to leave reservations and settle in cities. In Native American Studies, it is usually discussed as part of a larger era of assimilation and federal control, not just as a jobs program.

The policy grew out of earlier government ideas that Native people should be absorbed into mainstream American life. The Indian Employment Act of 1948 supported relocation by promoting job placement in urban areas, and the federal government presented city life as a path to better wages, housing, and opportunity. On paper, that sounds like mobility. In practice, it often meant pressure to leave tribal land and community ties behind.

Once people relocated, many ran into problems that the policy did not solve. Cities could offer work, but they also brought discrimination, unstable housing, low wages, and little support for people adjusting to an unfamiliar environment. Families could become separated from extended kin networks, and younger people often lost regular contact with language, ceremony, and everyday community life.

This is where the policy connects to urban Native experiences more broadly. Relocation helped increase the number of Native people living in cities, but that shift was not smooth or fully voluntary. It changed where communities formed, how identity was maintained, and what kinds of services Native people needed in urban settings.

Urban Indian Centers came out of that need. These centers offered job help, social services, and community space for relocated Native people who were trying to build lives in cities while staying connected to Native identity. So when you see Indian Relocation Policy in a Native American Studies class, think about both the federal promise and the lived result: economic pressure, cultural disconnection, and new urban Native communities formed in response.

## Why It Matters

Indian Relocation Policy matters because it shows how federal policy shaped Native life beyond reservations. It is one of the clearest examples of the government trying to manage Native identity through assimilation, economic pressure, and relocation instead of tribal sovereignty.

The term also helps explain why urban Native communities grew in the mid 20th century. If you are reading about Native people in Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, or other cities, relocation is often part of the backstory. It connects policy to demographics, and demographics to culture, because moving to cities changed family life, access to services, and the ways Native identity had to be maintained in a non-Native environment.

It also gives you a way to talk about cause and effect without flattening the story. The policy was advertised as opportunity, but the outcomes often included poverty, racism, and disconnection from community. That tension is a common theme in Native American Studies, where you are often asked to compare official government goals with Native experiences on the ground.

## Connections

### [Termination Policy](/hs-native-american-studies/key-terms/termination-policy)

Termination Policy and Indian Relocation Policy both come from a mid 20th century federal push to weaken tribal structures and push Native people toward mainstream American life. Termination focused on ending federal recognition and tribal status for some tribes, while relocation pushed individuals and families into cities. Together, they show how policy could attack Native communities through different channels.

### Urban Indian Centers

Urban Indian Centers are one of the main responses to relocation. When Native people moved to cities and found limited support, these centers offered job training, social services, and community connection. They matter because they show Native resilience, not just policy failure. In class, they often come up as a practical response to the problems created by relocation.

### Cultural Assimilation

Indian Relocation Policy is a real example of cultural assimilation in action. The policy did not just move people geographically, it pressured them to adapt to city life in ways that could weaken tribal ties, language use, and cultural practices. In a Native American Studies lens, that makes relocation part of a larger pattern of assimilationist policy.

### [pan-indianism](/hs-native-american-studies/key-terms/pan-indianism)

Relocation helped create conditions where Native people from different tribes lived near one another in cities. That sometimes encouraged pan-indianism, or broader Native solidarity across tribal lines. Shared urban experiences, discrimination, and the need for support could bring people together in organizations, events, and activism, even when they came from different nations.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz or short-answer question might ask you to identify Indian Relocation Policy from a description of Native people being moved into cities for work. The task is usually to connect the policy to assimilation, urban migration, and the problems many relocated families faced, like housing shortages or discrimination. In an essay or class discussion, you might use it as evidence that federal policy did not just affect reservation life, it also reshaped Native life in cities. If a prompt asks about urban Native Americans, this term gives you the policy background behind that demographic shift.

## Key Takeaways

- Indian Relocation Policy was a federal effort to move Native Americans from reservations into cities, especially during the 1950s.
- The policy was sold as a way to create jobs and better living conditions, but many people faced racism, housing problems, and cultural disconnection after moving.
- It is closely tied to broader assimilationist ideas in U.S. policy toward Native peoples.
- Urban Indian Centers grew partly because relocated Native people needed support, services, and community space in cities.
- In Native American Studies, the policy helps explain both urban Native migration and the costs of federal control over Native life.

## FAQs

### What is Indian Relocation Policy in Native American Studies?

Indian Relocation Policy was a federal program that encouraged Native Americans to leave reservations and move to cities for work and housing. In Native American Studies, it is studied as part of assimilation policy because it often separated people from tribal community life. The policy is remembered for its promised opportunity and its many harmful effects.

### Was Indian Relocation Policy voluntary?

It was presented as an opportunity, but it was not a simple free choice. Many Native people faced strong economic pressure and limited options on reservations, so relocation could feel like the only path to work. Once in the city, they often encountered discrimination and weak support systems, which made the move harder than the policy suggested.

### How did Indian Relocation Policy affect Native communities?

It increased urban Native populations and changed where many Native families lived. At the same time, it often weakened access to language, ceremony, kin networks, and community support. That disconnection helped create demand for Urban Indian Centers and other Native-led spaces in cities.

### How is Indian Relocation Policy different from Termination Policy?

Both were federal policies tied to assimilation, but they worked differently. Termination targeted tribal recognition and sovereignty, while relocation targeted where Native individuals and families lived and worked. They are often studied together because both show how U.S. policy tried to reduce Native land-based and political power.

## Related Study Guides

- [18.2 Challenges and opportunities for urban Native Americans](/hs-native-american-studies/unit-18/challenges-opportunities-urban-native-americans/study-guide/TAlrsrOYAO6ANcL5)

## About This Document

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