The Fourteenth Amendment conferred citizenship on those born in the United States, but one group was left out: Native Americans. In 1884, a case challenging that position made its way to the Supreme Court. John Elk brought a case against a registrar in Omaha for refusing to register him to vote because he was not considered a citizen. In a 7–2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply to Elk because, as an Indian, he was not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
When Calvin Coolidge became president in 1923, his relationship with Native Americans was generally positive, though complicated. Coolidge claimed that his father’s side of the family included “a marked trace of Indian blood.” He actively engaged with Native Americans, hosting them at the White House on numerous occasions and publicly releasing photographs with them. He also visited a reservation in South Dakota. On the other hand, Coolidge approved construction of Mount Rushmore, which required confiscating land from the Lakota Sioux.
Early in 1924, a young Native American woman addressed Coolidge during a visit to the White House. Ruth Muskrat spoke about the unique challenges Native Americans faced. She told Coolidge, “We want to become citizens of the United States, and to have our share in the building of this great nation that we love. But we want also to preserve the best that is in our own civilization.”
Muskrat’s words had an impact. On this date in 1924, President Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act into law. Although the act conferred citizenship on all Native Americans born in the United States, voting rights were still regulated by the states. Native American voting rights continued to be contested. Many states, including North Dakota, restricted suffrage through poll taxes and literacy tests. It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that Native Americans gained full voting access in all states and territories.
Challenges still remain. On the 100th anniversary of the act in 2024, Nicole Donaghy, executive director of North Dakota Native Vote, observed, “This anniversary serves as a reminder of the importance of continuing our efforts to dismantle barriers to voting rights and to uphold the inherent sovereignty of Native nations.”
Dakota Datebook written by Dr. Carole Butcher
Sources:
- National Archives. “The Fourteenth Amendment.” https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendmentAccessed 5/6/2026.
- Immigration History. “The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.” https://immigrationhistory.org/item/1924-indian-citizenship-act/Accessed 5/6/2026.
- The White House Historical Association. “Calvin Coolidge and Native Americans.” https://www.whitehousehistory.org/calvin-coolidge-and-native-americansAccessed 5/6/2026.
