In 1948, William Brophy, Collier’s successor as Commissioner, began a policy of relocating Indians to the cities where job opportunities were better than on the reservations.
This programme was gradually expanded:
- By 1960 nearly 30% of NAs lived in cities, as opposed to 8% in 1940.
Although the BIA provided some financial support and advice for relocating Indians, it reported as early 1953 that many Native Americans had:
‘found the adjustment to new working and living conditions more difficult than anticipated.’
- Securing housing, coping with prejudice, and even understanding everyday features of urban life such as traffic lights or telephones, made the experience difficult for many Indians.
- Unsurprisingly, many suffered unemployment, slum living and alcoholism.
Federal funding for the relocation project was never sufficient to assist Native Americans to cope with these problems, and many drifted back to the reservations.