ABSTRACT
The turn of the twentieth century was a period that shifted in a new direction from the nineteenth-century frontier wars and began an age in which civilization was no longer questioned but heralded because it was America’s destiny to become the strongest and most progressive country in the world. In response to the progressive-era reformers who advocated civilization, Indian progressive activists had their own positions that challenged the scientific community and the wider public. At the same time, Native American communities revived their traditional spiritual practices and tried to protect them from government policymakers who sought to stamp them out as unnecessary primitive relics, although some Native Americans tried to become members of mainstream America by demonstrating their patriotism and joining forces with white soldiers in World War I.
