The social, economic, and political regulation of Canada's First Nations was codified in the Indian Act. Rooted in colonialism and paternalism, the Indian Act was created by the government of Canada to fulfill three functions: (1) to define who was and was not an Indian; (2) to civilize the Indian; and (3) to manage the Indian people and their…

As of December 2010, the US Congress had enacted more than twenty major community-specific Native water-rights settlements, and the state of Arizona had more of these settlements (eight) than any other US state. This unique situation has invited voluminous studies on Arizona's Native water-rights settlements. Although these studies have clarified…

This essay--a combination of authorial narrative and scholarly critique--examines a grassroots organization's (Friends of Historic Northport) campaign to preserve a site in west Alabama where a pivotal Choctaw-Upper Creek battle took place in 1785. The organization has faced opposition from city planners and business leaders intent on developing…

In north central Virginia there is a local tale--The Legend of Jump Mountain, which purports to explain the origins of the Hayes Creek Indian Burial Mound. A highly romantic legend, it immortalizes post colonial intertribal warfare during the early nineteenth century while ignoring the antiquity of the mound and the local descendants of its…

Beginning in 2005, a five-year survey of cultural resources began to unfold in southeastern Utah along a prominent sandstone rock formation known as Comb Ridge. This visually dramatic monocline stretches a considerable distance from the southwestern corner of Blue Mountain (Abajos) in Utah to Kayenta, Arizona, approximately one hundred miles to…

What is the relationship between Indigenous peoples and violent reactions to contemporary states? This research explores differing, culturally informed notions of attachment to land or place territory. Mechanistic ties and organic ties to land are linked to a key distinction between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. Utilizing the…

Diane Glancy's historical fiction, "Pushing the Bear", reconstructs one episode in the Cherokee Trails of Tears (there were actually several relocations to the west, for the Cherokee and the other eastern tribes of the same period). The Removal of eastern peoples from their ancestral lands westward to eventual resettlement in Oklahoma is…

On August 1st, 2007, Indigenous nations from within the United States, Canada, Australia, and Aotearoa (New Zealand) signed a treaty to found the United League of Indigenous Nations. The Treaty of Indigenous Nations offers a historic opportunity for sovereign Indigenous governments to build intertribal cooperation outside the framework of the…

The map is a primary tool in geographic research, and the discipline of geography has experienced a significant methodological transformation during the last three decades with the development and now near ubiquity of geographic information systems (GIS) technology. The introduction of this technology into Indian country has spurred a debate over…

While other reservations were being forcibly allotted among tribal members, the Menominees retained their land in common, gained control of exploitation of reservation timber resources, and profited from the operations of their own lumber mill. A new theory of the impact of market economies on Indian peoples is needed. (SV)

Focuses on the role that maps have played in delimiting, clarifying, and evaluating Indian land tenure. Demonstrates the utility of the map record to academic research and land administration using five southern California maps representing a cross-section of types and preparation methods. Contains 51 references. (SV)

Provides students of American Indian affairs with a schematic map survey in 10 subject areas that demonstrate stages in the history of Indian land tenure and territoriality. Pulls together relevant map sources and indicates their cartographic utility. Contains references in extensive notes. (SV)

Examines aspects of American Indian world views and values relevant to economic development policy; specifically, sense of community, connectedness of everything, consideration of future generations, and humility toward nature. Discusses constraints on economic development arising from these values and the relevance of common property ownership…

A land use mapping study in an Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) Indian Reserve in northern Ontario attempted to satisfy the demands of both academic and Aboriginal communities. Community elders provided extensive knowledge of the local environment, its history and cultural and spiritual significance, and the links between environmental and community…