Charles C. Painter (1833–1895) was an American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, Native American advocate and

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

minister. The son of a Virginia planter who freed the people he enslaved before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Painter served on the faculty of

Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...

, dedicated to the education of African Americans. He was a prominent member of the

Indian Rights Association The Indian Rights Association (IRA) was a social activist group dedicated to the well-being and acculturation of Native Americans in the United States. Founded by non-Indians in Philadelphia in 1882, the group was highly influential in American Ind ...

, working out of the organization's

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

office, and, with Samuel M. Brosius, had a long career as an IRA agent and lobbyist in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Founded in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1882, the Indian Rights Association's stated objective was to "bring about the complete civilization of the Indians and their admission to citizenship." In 1884, the organization's founders, Herbert Welsh and Henry Pancoast, opened an additional office in the District of Columbia to act as a legislative lobby and liaison with the Board of Indian Commissioners and the Board of Indian Affairs in 1884. The Indian Rights Association also maintained close contacts with Indian agents and with native groups themselves through correspondence and trips to reservations and settlements. Painter made frequent trips to reservations to investigate the actions of Indian Bureau agents and to observe the living and health conditions of Native Americans. Painter personally favored Indian citizenship and the abolition of Indian reservations. He also lobbied heavily for the institution of the Allotment policy introduced by Senator Henry L. Dawes and passed in 1887 as the

Dawes Act The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the P ...

References

1895 deaths American abolitionists American Congregationalist ministers Activists for Native American rights American Indigenous rights activists Year of birth uncertain Congregationalist abolitionists {{Congregationalism-stub