To Help Her Out of This Uneasy Situation: Race, Gender, and Native American Citizenship in the Servicemen's Dependents Allowance Act of 1942

Under the Servicemen’s Dependents Allowance Act of 1942, wives, children, and other dependent relatives of men in the lower grades of the military were eligible for a monthly allowance from the soldier's paycheck and the federal government. Native American wives (and many elderly parents) often faced difficulties in complying with regulations necessary to claim benefits because their claims were funneled through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), reflecting the prevalent assumption that Indians were not citizens of the US, but rather "wards" of the federal government. Government officials in charge of disbursing benefits were unfamiliar with tribal customs surrounding marriage and divorce, and preferred to communicate directly with BIA personnel. In addition, BIA agents wielded a certain amount of power over how Native women were able to utilize these welfare benefits. Although the term "ward" implied that Indians were helpless and needed guidance from the federal government, Native women used their years of experience with governmental red tape to capitalize on the financial benefits they were promised from their husbands' military service. As they maneuvered through the bureaucratic process to access the benefits they were due, they asserted their rights as American citizens. However, in that process, they did not accept an assimilationist narrative or downplay how settler colonialism had affected their lives. Rather, they challenged the racialized and colonial lens through which they were viewed by state agents and the public. As they asserted their right to welfare, they negotiated and challenged the definitions of American citizenship itself.