Act for the Government and Protection of Indians

California gold rush Prior to 1846, the non-native population of California was limited to less than 15,000 people, however, during the California gold rush, this population grew to 100,000 people. Tensions built between Anglo-American miners and Native Californians in the area. Early on in the gold rush, miners banded together in what were essentially militia groups, contributing to harassment and murder of Indigenous peoples in the area. This led to many instances of massacre, with groups of natives becoming smaller in size and weaker in their ability to fight back. Beginning in July 1846, The United States occupied California. In an effort to mediate conflict, General Stephen Kearny, governor of California, appointed John Sutter and Mariano Vallejo to offices as subagents for the Indians, near Sacramento and San Francisco, respectively, in April 1847 to secure information pertaining to Native Californians in their respective areas, establish local regulations, and considered themselves protectors of those Indigenous to the area. However, the interactions that took place were not protective and not peaceful. As a result, Lieutenant William Tecumseh Sherman authorized any person to shoot those Native to the area, if caught stealing a horse. Natives that were employed were required to have certification on them beginning November 1, 1847, and those caught without these certificates were to be considered horse-thieves, and arrested and punished as such. At the same time, the United States ruled that Native Americans in the area did not have the right to sell or lease the lands on which they resided. On April 22, 1850, the first California Legislature passed An Act for the Government and Protection of Indians, initially introduced as An Act relative to the protection, punishment, and government of Indians by Senator Chamberlin. ==Provisions of the Act==

The Act in essence facilitated the removal of Indigenous groups native to present-day California, and separated a generation of children and adults from their native culture, families, and languages. Additionally, it indentured Indigenous members to white people in the area. Section 7 was amended subjecting any person indenturing a Native American except as provided in the act, to prosecution and fines. In 1872, section 6 was repealed. In 1872, the California Constitution was amended, granting Native Americans the right to testify in courts of law. ==Implementation==

This act allowed for any Native American that was strolling about to be declared vagrant by a white person and taken before a justice, to be subsequently sold at public auction, and was very much exploited in the overuse of this allowance by white Americans. At the time, it was common for ranchers and land owners to pay their workers, many of whom were Native Americans, in alcohol. Thus, public intoxication was almost encouraged, leading to frequent arrests and ensuing enslavement. After a few months of employment, it was common for enslaved Native Americans to be returned to the streets, typically in an area with alcohol in order to be declared a vagrant once again and be returned to labor. Workers were forced to work until their debt was paid, and these citizens did not have the right to vote or testify in court. These auctions occurred in the streets of present-day Los Angeles, acting as a flourishing slave market from 1850 to 1870. Many men made livings off of these auctions, with young Native Californians being sold anywhere from $30 to $150. In the years of 1851 and 1852, the California Legislature financially incentivized harassment of Natives, authorizing pay of $1,100,000 for the "suppression of Indian hostilities." These bonds were continued in the year 1857 in the amount of $410,000. In April 1863, after the Emancipation Proclamation, the indenture and "apprecenticeship" of Native Americans was abolished by the California Legislature. The law was repealed in 1866, after the 14th Amendment was added to the United States Constitution. This stated that no state should infringe on any citizen's privileges or immunities, nor deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny any one person the equal protection of the law. Lingering slave trafficking faded out in the 1870s, largely due to the decreasing population of Native Americans in the area as well as the increase in immigrants from other nations, namely China and European countries. Treaties and negotiations In 1851, a process of treaty writing began following the appointment of three commissioners by the federal government, with 18 treaties negotiated with various tribes in the California region by 1852. Cumulatively, these treaties set aside almost 7.5 million acres of land, close to one third of the land in California, specifically for Native use. These treaties also consisted of substantial nourishment, providing money for meals and resources in a hope to have the tribes be self-sufficient. Almost immediately, these treaties were opposed in the State Senate, and ordered to be opposed in ratification, calling for the removal of Indians due to the dislike of assigning large portions of promising agricultural land to those Native to the land. The United States government failed to ratify these treaties. In 1852, the first Superintendent of Indian Affairs in California, Edward F. Beale, was appointed, with a plan to establish at least five reserves. $250,000 was appropriated by Congress, and the Tejon Reserve was established in September 1853. Around 2,000 Natives were brought to the . In focusing on these efforts, Beale neglected many other vulnerable Native Californians. In 1854, he was removed from his position. His replacement in 1854, Col. Thomas J. Henley, established the Nome Lacklee Reservation; Nome Cult, Mendocino; Fresno Indian Farm; and Kings River Indian Farm. These reservations suffered from crop damage and a lack of water, resulting in poor living conditions. Eventually, federal ownership was relinquished and once again those native to the land were forced to move. In 1870, oversight of the reserves was turned over to the Quaker Church, in addition to the Methodists, Baptists, and other churches, which were generally intolerant of Native American's traditional beliefs. Turning reservations into missions began the first tool in California-Native American relations used in attempt to assimilated Natives into the general population. ==Concurrent legislation==

The Act for the Government and Protection of Indians is in line with other laws passed in the state of California during this time, such as the Greaser Act in 1855 and the Foreign Miners' Tax Act of 1850 (repealed in 1851 and reinstated in 1852). ==Impact==

This act had devastating impacts on the population of those native to the area of California. Prior to the gold rush, it is estimated that there were between 100,000 and 125,000 Native Californians living in the state. The location of these instances of violence and disregard of human rights have become significant in present-day movements. Native groups have since used this auction location as a common protest site, emphasizing the location's history of injustice. There were lasting effects of the tenets of the act itself, and many lingered far past the original repeal of the law. Those Native to California were not allowed the right to vote, even after the 15th Amendment of the United States was ratified, affirming the right of all US citizens to vote. Native Californians were not granted the right to vote until the federal Indian Citizenship Act was passed in 1924. ==See also==