Normally I understand why Vice Presidents are pretty obscure, since they often don't have much impact on their president's administration. However, Curtis is unique because he had major native ancestry through his mother. I figured this would make him somewhat notable as the first "Native American" Vice President. Especially considering the US's troubling relationship with most American tribes, Curtis could be very important in showing the changing views towards natives by the United States. Yet I have never heard of him at all until hearing about Curtis on the internet. Why did a relatively major "first" in US history become so obscure?
^1 reposting /u/DoctorEmperor's question because it's a great Question which didn't seem to get an answer
To ask a follow up question How is Curtis remembered in AmerIndian communities?
You are quite clearly correct in saying that the US has not had the greatest relationship with American Indians, and oddly enough, Charles Curtis had a hand in that. He passed the Curtis Act as a Kansas senator which, "... helped weaken and dissolve Indian Territory tribal governments by abolishing tribal courts and subjecting all persons in the territory to federal law." It also stripped mineral rights from the Indians and gave more power to congress over governing the territories, taking a lot of power away from reservation residents.
Here's a passage from the book, Sustaining the Cherokee Family by Rose Stremlau, which covers the effects of the Curtis Act; “The Curtis Act destroyed tribal sovereignty in Indian Territory. First, it suspended tribal laws and judicial systems. Second, it removed tribal control over assets, entrusting them instead to the secretary of the interior. Third, Congress posted an inspector in Indian Territory to supervise and, essentially, cripple the governments of the Five Tribes. Fourth, the Curtis Act provided a framework for dismantling tribal resource bases.”
That is his biggest lasting accomplishment. He really didn't do much as VP. From senate.gov, "Curtis was never close to President Herbert Hoover and played no significant role in his administration."
He was a popular politician when he was in Congress, as noted by contemporary Senator William Borah, "[Curtis was] a great reconciler, a walking political encyclopedia and one of the best political poker players in America." After becoming VP however, "Curtis grew pompous, demanding that past intimates address him as the vice president of the United States and giving the impression that he felt that he, rather than Herbert Hoover, should be occupying the White House."
His career ended after Hoover's defeat in 32. Here's a good summary of his VP time as written by the Senate Historical Office, "A party regular—"one-eighth Kaw Indian and a one-hundred per cent Republican" as he liked to tell audiences—he had been yoked to one of the most intellectual and least political of all American presidents, and the incompatibility of the team made his vice-presidency a dismal failure."
He's not much of a figure to get behind.
The senate.gov page on him is a good read.
Does it make sense to think of Curtis as having identified as a Native American in the sense that we would recognize today at all? Honest question. I have no agenda, but am not at all sure that "identity" as we now understand it, operated the same way back then. Hopefully someone can enlighten us.
Follow up question: how did Curtis, and any other minority elected official at the time, deal with their minority heritage in office and while campaigning?
(Also thanks for reposting this question, very happy to see so many people are also interested in Curtis)
(Edit: changed comment to be more up to date)