The Women's National Indian Association (WNIA) was founded in 1879 by a group of American women, including educators and activists Mary Bonney and Amelia Stone Quinton. Bonney and Quinton united in the 1880s against the encroachment of white settlers on land set aside for Native Americans in Indian Territory. They drew up a petition that addressed the binding obligation of treaties between the United States and Native American nations. The petition was circulated for signature in sixteen states and was presented to President Rutherford B. Hayes at the White House and in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1880.
thumb|Amelia Stone Quinton (1833-1926)
The Association changed its name to National Indian Association, and was voluntarily dissolved in 1951.
History
Concerned about European-American encroachment on lands reserved for tribes in Indian Territory, Mary Bonney and Amelia Stone Quinton gathered signatures for petitions to demonstrate support among American people to honor the treaties made with tribes by the United States. They submitted the first such petition to the President and Congress in 1880. and Initially The Association first began as a petition drive to persuade Congress to uphold Indian treaties. Initially founded in 1879 in reaction to the prospect of opening Oklahoma Indian Territory to white settlement, additional branches quickly expanded in the 1880s. At its peak the Association supported 98 branch organizations in 28 states and sustained 56 missions on Indian reservations. Soon, chapters in sixteen states participated in the movement. The Association was voluntarily dissolved in 1951 due to funding cuts and policy shifts. It maintained missions, produced several publications, and influenced national policy, including the passing of the Dawes Act in 1887. Its main objectives were to assimilate Indians through Christian education and missionary work, and abolish the reservation system.
While many of the Association's members considered the Dawes Act an achievement, they did not realize the adverse effects it would have for many Indians.