June 2, 2026, is American Indian Citizenship Day and it marks the 102nd anniversary of the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act, also known as the Snyder Act. Previously, indigenous tribes were denied citizenship via the U.S. Constitution and later the 14th Amendment. (Source) Why? Before 1924, tribal nations were legally recognized as separate, sovereign entities. The bill was, in part, a way to acknowledge the thousands of indigenous persons who served in World War I. (Source). Despite being acknowledged as citizens, a fundamental right – the right to vote – was not uniformly applied. It was still governed by state law, and up until around 1957 many states barred indigenous persons from voting. The Civil Rights Act of 1965 finally helped enforce voting protections for all Americans (Source). We’ve provided below some books and e- books about immigration, citizenship, and native American history.
- Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants (Oxford University Press, 2026)
- This Indian Country: American Indian Political Activists and the Place They Made (Penguin, 2012)
- Learning One’s Native Tongue: Citizenship, Contestation, and Conflict in America (University of Chicago, 2019)
- American Immigration and Citizenship: A Documentary History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016)
- Tribes and Tribulations: Misconceptions about American Indians and their Histories (University of New Mexico Press, 1995)
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