February 15, 1953: Federal Policy for “Termination” of Indian tribes is implemented.

Indian termination policy was a policy that the United States Congress implemented in 1950s and 1960s to assimilate the Native Americans (Indians) with mainstream American society, by terminating the government's trusteeship of Indian reservations and making Indians assume all the responsibilities of full citizenship.

A 1943 survey of Indian conditions, conducted by the United States Senate, revealed that the living conditions on the reservations were extremely poor. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the federal bureaucracy were found to be at fault for the troubling problems due to extreme mismanagement. The Federal government believed that some tribes no longer needed its protection, and should be part of the mainstream American society. Goals of termination included repealing laws that discriminated against Indians, free the Indians from domination by the BIA, and ending federal supervision of the Indians. Senator Arthur V. Watkins of Utah, the strongest proponent for termination, equated it with the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared the freedom of all slaves in the territory of the CSA.

In 1953, the House of Representatives and the Senate announced their support for the "Termination" policy, with House Concurrent Resolution 108:

“Whereas it is the policy of Congress, as rapidly as possible, to make the Indians within the territorial limits of the United States subject to the same laws and entitled to the same privileges and responsibilities as are applicable to other citizens of the United States, to end their status as wards of the United States, and to grant them all of the rights and prerogatives pertaining to American citizenship”

Public Law 280, passed in 1953, gave the State governments the power to assume jurisdiction over Indian reservations. In 1957–58, a State Senate Interim Committee investigation revealed that little had been done to prepare Indian reserves for termination. In 1958, the Rancheria Termination Act was enacted.

Western Oregon Indian Termination Act of 1954 – This act terminated about 67 tribes from western Oregon, including the Grand Ronde and Siletz Reservations. This one act terminated more Tribes than all other termination acts combined.

During 1953–1964, 109 tribes were terminated, approximately 1,365,801 acres of trust land were removed from protected status, and 13,263 Native Americans lost tribal affiliation. As a result of termination, the special federal trustee relationship of the Indians with the federal government ended, they were subjected to state laws, and their lands were converted to private ownership.

The tribes disapproved of Public Law 280, as they disliked states having jurisdiction without tribal consent. The State governments also disapproved of the law, as they didn't want to take on jurisdiction for additional areas without additional funding. Consequently, additional amendments to Public Law 280 were passed to require tribal consent in law enforcement. On May 3, 1958, the Inter Tribal Council of California (ITCC) was founded in response to the pressures of termination and other issues.

Many scholars believe that the termination policy had devastating effects on tribal autonomy, culture and economic welfare. The lands belonging to the Native Americans, rich in resources, were taken over by the federal government. The termination policy had disastrous effects on the Menominee tribe (located in Wisconsin) and the Klamath tribes (located in Oregon), forcing many members of the tribes onto public assistance rolls.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy decided against implementing any more termination measures, although he did enact some of the last terminations, including that of the Ponca Tribe, which culminated in 1966. Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon decided to encourage Indian self-determination instead of termination.

Some tribes fought back. The struggle lasted until 1980, when the issue made its way to the US Supreme Court. The 1974 Boldt Decision was upheld in 1980 to recognize those treaty rights that were lost. With problems arising in the 1960s several organizations were formed, such as the American Indian Movement (AIM) and other organizations that helped protect the rights of the Indians and their land. In 1975, Congress had implicitly rejected the termination policy by passing the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, which increased the tribal control over reservations and helped with the funding of building schools closer to the reservations. On January 24, 1983, President Ronald Reagan issued an American Indian policy statement that supported explicit repudiation of the termination policy.