Editing Civilian Conservation Corps (section)

===Indian Division===
The CCC operated a separate division for members of federally recognized [[Tribe (Native American)|tribes]]: the "Indian Emergency Conservation Work Division" (IECW or CCC-ID). Native men from reservations worked on roads, bridges, clinics, shelters, and other public works near their [[Indian reservation|reservations]]. Although they were organized as groups classified as camps, no permanent camps were established for Native Americans. Instead, organized groups moved with their families from project to project and were provided with an additional rental allowance.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Calvin W. |last=Gower |title=The CCC Indian Division: Aid for Depressed Americans, 1933–1942 |journal=Minnesota History |year=1972 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=3–13}}</ref> The CCC often provided the only paid work, as many reservations were in remote rural areas. Enrollees had to be between the ages of 17 and 35.

During 1933, about half the male heads of households on the [[Sioux]] reservations in [[South Dakota]] were employed by the CCC-ID.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Roger |last=Bromert |title=The Sioux and the Indian-CCC |journal=South Dakota History |year=1978 |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=340–356}}</ref> With grants from the [[Public Works Administration]] (PWA), the Indian Division built schools and conducted a road-building program in and around many reservations to improve infrastructure. The mission was to reduce erosion and improve the value of Indian lands. Crews built dams of many types on creeks, then sowed grass on the eroded areas from which the damming material had been taken. They built roads and planted shelter-belts on federal lands. The steady income helped participants regain self-respect, and many used the funds to improve their lives. [[John Collier (reformer)|John Collier]], the federal [[Commissioner of Indian Affairs]] and Daniel Murphy, the director of the CCC-ID, both based the program on Indian self-rule and the restoration of tribal lands, governments, and cultures. The next year, Congress passed the [[Indian Reorganization Act|Indian Reorganization Act of 1934]], which ended allotments and helped preserve tribal lands, and encouraged tribes to re-establish self-government.

Collier said of the CCC-Indian Division, "no previous undertaking in Indian Service has so largely been the Indians' own undertaking". Educational programs trained participants in gardening, stock raising, safety, native arts, and some academic subjects.<ref name="Hanneman">{{cite journal |first=Carolyn G. |last=Hanneman |title=Baffles, Bridges, and Bermuda: Oklahoma Indians and the Civilian Conservation Corps-Indian Division |journal=Chronicles of Oklahoma |year=1999 |volume=77 |issue=4 |pages=428–449}}</ref> IECW differed from other CCC activities in that it explicitly trained men in skills to be carpenters, truck drivers, radio operators, mechanics, surveyors, and technicians. With the passage of the [[National Defense Vocational Training Act of 1941]], enrollees began participating in defense-oriented training. The government paid for the classes and after students completed courses and passed a competency test, guaranteed automatic employment in defense work. A total of 85,000 Native Americans were enrolled in this training. This proved valuable social capital for the 24,000 alumni who later served in the military and the 40,000 who left the reservations for city jobs supporting the war effort.