During a debate on the Indian Appropriations Act, white senators pose the question: "Which group in the U.S. has been treated worse, Natives or enslaved Africans?" This argument takes up much of the policy debate, which is focused on supplementing treaty payments to the Chippewa of Lake Superior.

This "debate" has been a strategy of maintaining white supremacy from the beginning, by undermining solidarity between oppressed peoples and fueling competition and comparison between Black and Native communities.