Describes conflicts that arose when the Citizen Band Potawatomis--virtually all of whom were U.S. citizens--were granted reservation land claimed by Absentee Shawnees; government inconsistencies in treating the Citizen Band as citizens or Indians; and the shrewdness of the Band's acculturated leaders in exploiting such inconsistencies. Contains 34…

Discusses the legal history of ownership claim to Black Hills land in South Dakota by Lakota Sioux Indians and federal government. Examines progress of the Sioux Nation Black Hills Act (1987) as a way to establish a Sioux National Council, a vibrant legal panel linking the Lakota with their past. (TES)

Traces the efforts of Taos Pueblo to regain control of Blue Lake--the center of its religious life--from 1904, when the pueblo first petitioned the federal government for exclusive use of the area, to 1970, when federal legislation returned 48,000 acres. Contains 49 references. (SV)

This report was written to teach the people and children of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation about their history, tribal government, and its functions. The reservation is populated mainly by members of the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre communities. The report begins with a tribal history starting from the 17th century, when a group of Assiniboine…

Examines the Sioux Nation Black Hills Act (1987) as a proposed settlement of the Black Hills claim by the Sioux. Examines bill in terms of American legal history. Suggests the legislation would create legal confusion, conflict, and racial tension. Criticizes bill as harming regional resource management efforts. (TES)

By the late 19th century, the military extermination of Indians was proving a failure and an embarrassment. Reformist Congressmen, including Thaddeus Pound, formulated a new policy based on land allotment and assimilation through boarding school education. Though framed in humanitarian terms, the primary goal was the removal of Indian resistance…

This book relates the history of the Choctaw Nation before and after the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forced some Mississippi Choctaw to flee to Oklahoma. Some Choctaws nonetheless chose to remain in Mississippi, and today the tribe occupies eight reservation communities scattered throughout that state. The book constitutes a case study of…

Between the end of the Roosevelt era and the beginning of the Kennedy administration, less traditional Native Americans, congressional leaders, and government administrators developed a policy that they hoped would integrate the Indian population with mainstream America. To this end, they enacted laws to terminate the government's trusteeship of…

Compares the impact of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 on the Hopis, Western Shoshones, and Southern Utes with regard to land reform, economic development, and tribal management. Describes salient tribal characteristics prior to 1934, and federal government tactics to force acceptance of the Act. Contains 83 references. (SV)

The 238 documents printed in this volume illustrate the history of the United States government and the American Indians from the founding of the nation to the end of the 20th century. They are a collection of official and quasi-official records that marked significant formulations of public policy. The documents, presented in full text or…

This special theme issue outlines the history of discrimination against traditional Native American religions, including recent Supreme Court decisions. "Discrimination and Native American Religious Rights," by Senator Daniel K. Inouye, discusses the compelling government interest in eradicating discrimination and describes two Supreme…

The author discusses federal legislation that concerns American Indian education. Examines contract schools, the Bureau of Indian Affairs school system, availability of public schools, sectarian mission schools, termination of tribal sovereignty, relocation to urban areas, and the Indian Education Act of 1972. (CT)

This paper reviews the history and current status of the eight Metis settlements established in the 1940s for people of mixed white and Indian blood living traditional Indian lifestyles in Alberta. The Ewing Commission first reported in 1936 on the Metis people who were not allocated reserves as status Indians and did not have squatters' rights on…

Beginning in the year 1568, American Indians were thrust into an alien educational environment in which their languages--the very expressions of their tribal cultures--had no relevance or validity from the perspective of their teachers. The evolution of educational policy as it has affected Indians was initially tied to land transfer and…

The past and present of the Blackfeet Tribe are the subject of the five essays in this document. Written by young tribal members, the essays are intended for readers unfamiliar with the tribe. The first essay, "Before the Reservation", is an introduction to the early history and life style of the tribe, including its migration to the…