John Collier

John Collier, commissioner of Indian affairs from 1933 to 1945, defends the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) in Congress. The Senate had recently approved legislation exempting certain Indigenous groups from the IRA, an exemption which, Collier argued, the Indigenous groups did not want. Collier had stewarded the IRA in Congress and was a champion of the legislation, which, while imperfect, helped to restore to Indigenous people the management of their lands and assets.