DURANT, OK – On January 4, 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford signed the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 (ISDEAA). The law gave tribal governments the right to administer and oversee the implementation of their federal programs, encouraging self-determination and self-governance. January 4, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of this historic act.
“ISDEAA is one of the most critical pieces of legislation ever enacted, because it confirms the federal government’s realization that tribes have the right to govern ourselves, and it expanded our ability to govern ourselves,” said Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton. “Because of this legislation, the Choctaw Nation developed its constitution, which was ratified in 1983 and still governs our tribe today.”
Tribes initially hesitated to take advantage of the opportunities the ISDEAA provided. In Choctaw Nation: A Story of American Indian Resurgence, Dr. Valerie Lambert notes that it wasn’t until eight years after the ISDEAA’s signing that Choctaw Nation used the funding to start programs including food distribution, a vocational development program, Head Start and housing. ISDEAA also enabled the Choctaw Nation to become the first tribe to contract complete hospital administration with the Talihina Hospital.
To acknowledge the instrumental impact the law had on self-governance, the Choctaw Nation Tribal Council passed a resolution celebrating the 50th anniversary of the ISDEAA.
“The ISDEAA has been instrumental for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to become the great Nation that it is today,” said Batton.