The guest speaker that we had for class this day was Dani McQuillan.

McQuillan spent

her childhood growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation, left in 2000, and attended Law School

immediately after leaving. Then, became an attorney and Deputy Regional Director of the

Bureau of Indian Affairs. She received her college degree while living on the Pine Ridge

Reservation before she attended Law School. The intention of her speech was to share the history

of the Federal Indian Policy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and more! The main subject that

was carried throughout her presentation was the struggles and successes of the Native American

Community. Sharing different cases and stories of the Native Americans and what they have

gone through throughout time.

One of the things that she talked about that I found most interesting was the Treaty

Systems and the 1871 Agreement. Treaties have been the Native Americans way of

consolidating agreements throughout time, however, the government decided to put a stop to

them. Not only did the government want to get rid of treaties, they wanted to relocate them as

well because the U.S. wanted their land. So, the U.S. in turn made an “agreement” and enforced

the move to Oklahoma. Tribes were forced to agree to this, or else they were practically held at

gun point. This led to the finding of gold leaving Native Americans upset because it is their land.

Reflecting on such a time like this in history really shows how hard the Native Americans fought

for their rights and land back, inspiring many people, showing their true values, and leaving a

mark in history.

Reference: McQuillan, D. (2019 December 3). Lecture on Indian Law. Northern. State

University, Aberdeen, South Dakota.