Congress terminates federal recognition of many tribes under assimilation policy

Congress passes the Menominee Termination Act and other termination-era laws in the 1950s, ending or weakening the federal relationship with selected tribes. Termination policy aims to assimilate Native people into state systems and end federal trust responsibilities. The policy leads to loss of services, land, and self-government for affected tribes. Native activists later organize to reverse termination and defend tribal sovereignty. Termination is a federal assimilation policy that treats Native nations as obstacles to be dissolved rather than governments with rights.