Summarizes William Sidis'"Tribes and States," a 50-year-old unpublished manuscript that retells colonial American history from an American Indian viewpoint and traces the contributions of American Indians, particularly the Penacook Federation and the Iroquois Confederacy, to American democracy and constitutional rights. (SV)

After many years of intense debate, the idea that the Iroquois helped shape democracy has passed into the realm of general knowledge the length and breadth of "Turtle Island," and beyond. Although a few brushfires of criticism remain in academia, many people and organizations have been applying Iroquois political principles in their daily lives.…