Indian Claims Commission

The Indian Claims Commission (ICC) was a group of people who would help Native American tribes when they felt as if the government had not been fair to them.

Imagine if you were playing with your toys and your friend took one of your favorite toys without asking. You would probably feel upset and want your toy back. This is sort of like what happened to some Native American tribes.

The United States government made agreements with Native American tribes about their land and resources, but sometimes these agreements weren't fair or weren't kept. For example, the government might have promised to give a tribe money in exchange for their land but never actually paid the tribe. This made the tribes feel like the government was being unfair to them.

The ICC was like a grown-up who would listen to both sides of the story and decide what was fair. They would look at all the evidence and facts, and then make a decision. If they decided that the government had not been fair to the tribe, they would help the tribe get compensated for what they lost.

Think of it like this: if you told a grown-up what happened when your friend took your toy, the grown-up would listen to both sides of the story to decide if your friend should give you back your toy. That's sort of what the ICC did for Native American tribes. They were a group of grown-ups who listened to both sides of the story and decided if the government owed the tribe something.

The ICC helped many Native American tribes get back some of what they lost due to unfair agreements with the government. It was an important group in helping to make things right for these tribes.