Alice Lee Jemison facts for kids

Alice Mae Lee Jemison (1901–1964) was a Seneca activist and journalist. She spoke out against the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). This was a government agency that managed Native American affairs. She also criticized the New Deal policies of its leader, John Collier.

Alice Jemison worked to help Native Americans in California, Cherokee, and Sioux communities. The Seneca Tribal Council supported her work. The government at the time, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, did not like her actions. She was sometimes watched by the FBI.

About Alice Jemison's Life

Alice Jemison was born on October 9, 1901. This was in Silver Creek, New York. It was close to the Cattaraugus Reservation. Her mother, Elnora E. Seneca, came from an important Seneca family. Her father, Daniel A. Lee, was a cabinetmaker with Cherokee roots.

Alice wanted to become a lawyer. She worked in a law office. But she could not afford to go to law school. In 1919, she finished high school. She married Le Verne Leonard Jamison. They separated nine years later. Alice worked hard to support her mother and her two children.

Besides being a journalist and activist, she had many other jobs. She worked as a beautician, salesperson, and factory worker. She was also a clerk, peddler, dressmaker, and theater usher. Her daughter, Jeanne Marie Jemison, later became a judge in the Seneca Nation.

Alice's Early Work

Helping Native Americans in a Legal Case

In March 1930, a serious crime happened in Buffalo. Two Iroquois women, Lila Jimerson and Nancy Bowen, were accused. Alice Jemison helped defend them. The local prosecutor called it an "Indian" crime. He searched Seneca and Cayuga homes without permission.

Alice worked with Chief Clinton Rickard and Seneca President Ray Jimerson. They asked political leaders for help. This included U.S. Vice President Charles Curtis. Because of their efforts, the Bureau of Indian Affairs helped the women get legal representation.

Writing for Newspapers

In the early 1930s, Alice worked part-time for Seneca President Ray Jimerson. She also wrote for the Buffalo Evening News. Her articles were shared by the North American Newspaper Alliance.

In 1931, she spoke for the Seneca people. They turned down an offer from New York State. This offer was to settle an old land claim. The Seneca would have received $75,000. The Cayuga would get $247,000. They could also keep living on the Seneca reservation.

In the early 1930s, she did legal research. She wrote newspaper articles. She also worked against the Indian Reorganization Act. In 1943, Jemison moved to Washington, D.C. She began writing for the Washington Star.

Fighting Government Policies

Against the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Alice Jemison strongly disagreed with BIA Commissioner John Collier. She did not like his ideas about how Native Americans should govern themselves. She believed in many different ways of life for Native Americans. She fought against the idea that all Native Americans should live in one specific way. Her ideas were shaped by the writings of Carlos Montezuma.

In May 1933, she spoke out against Collier's choices for new leaders. She said he appointed them without public hearings. She felt Native American representatives should have a say. She believed that Native Americans should have a voice in their own government.

...mainly against the principle of government by a bureau in which Indians have no voice. We believed the Indians were to be given a new deal and dared to raise our voice regarding the man whom we considered best qualified to be our guardian.... Other Indians spoke for other men and some just asked for an open hearing. An open council of all Indians might easily have been called and everyone given an opportunity to speak openly and publicly regarding their wishes. That would have been a new deal.

Opposing the Indian Reorganization Act

Alice Jemison and her supporters saw the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 as unfair. They believed it went against treaty rights. They also felt it denied tribal sovereignty. This means the right of tribes to govern themselves.

Following this idea, she also fought against the government's plan. They wanted to make the Seneca follow the Selective Service Act of 1940. This act required U.S. citizens to join the military draft. Alice insisted that this power belonged to the Iroquois Confederacy.

Jemison also protested in June 1935. President Roosevelt stopped the Beiter Bill. This bill would have given back tribal control over fishing and hunting on Seneca lands. The government had taken this away in 1927. Alice saw this as a violation of the Treaty of Canandaigua (1794).

Testifying Before Congress

In November 1938, she spoke to the Dies Committee. This committee looked into certain influences in government. Alice Jemison testified on behalf of the American Indian Federation (AIF). She said that some government officials were part of groups she disagreed with.

She argued that the Bureau of Indian Affairs' plan was not good for Native Americans. She believed it would make them lose their land. John Collier, the BIA Commissioner, said that the AIF was causing trouble.

Alice Jemison continued to speak out. In 1940, she testified again about the Indian Reorganization Act. She said the Bureau of Indian Affairs' plans were harmful. She believed they would hurt Native Americans.

In January 1939, Alice Jemison spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee. This was about a new judge for the U.S. Supreme Court. She spoke against the nomination. She felt that the nominee was partly responsible for government actions she disagreed with. These actions, she believed, tried to change how Native Americans lived. This referred to the 1934 Act. It aimed to give tribal deeds for land. Earlier, land was given out individually. This had led to Native Americans selling much of their land to others.

Other Activism

Alice Jemison also defended the rights of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She worked with Cherokee Vice-Chief Fred Bauer. They successfully changed the path of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This made it less disruptive to the Cherokee lands.

Her efforts helped South Dakota and California Native Americans. She brought more Native American voices to Congress. She also published a newsletter called The First American. This newsletter discussed new laws, civil liberties issues, and the image of Native Americans. It also talked about getting rid of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And it called for the removal of Commissioner Collier.