Immediately upon its establishment in 1824, the Office of Indian Affairs was an instrument by which the United States enforced its ambition against the Indian nations. As the nation expanded West, the agency participated in the ethnic cleansing that befell the western tribes. War begets tragedy, but the deliberate spread of disease, the decimation…

Assistant Secretary Gover apologizes for the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) actions in the ethnic cleansing of American Indian tribes and the destruction of Indian cultures. He asserts the agency's moral responsibility of putting things right and proposes that a healing process begin and that the BIA work to reinvent itself as an instrument of…

Discusses the unique legal status of American Indians as citizens of tribal governments, and traces their struggle for civil rights. Examines provisions for in the U.S. Constitution dealing with the Indians, the military conquest of Indian tribes, and Indian participation in the civil rights movement. Includes a list of books on American Indian…