Provides historical background on federal policies related to Indian family rights and child welfare and on legislation leading up to the Indian Child Welfare Act. Interprets the act with regard to jurisdiction and standards for child placement for foster care and adoption. Discusses federal funding of the act and monitoring of state compliance.…

Examines work of author D.H. Lawrence and John Collier, later Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner, during 1920s when they stayed as Mabel Dodge Luhan's guests in Taos, New Mexico. Examines their perceptions of Pueblo Indian culture, federal-Indian relationship, and Indian influences on Lawrence's and Collier's work. (TES)

Excerpts of a discussion recorded at the "New Directions in Indian Purpose" symposium held in June 1986 in Chicago are given. The symposium's main thrust was the examination of the Declaration of Indian Purpose (1961) and how the declaration has been translated into the modern agendas of tribes. (JMM)

Discusses enactment, implementation, feedback, and reformulation of P.L. 93-638, permitting tribes to assume control of federal Indian programs. Focuses on 1975-80, during which policymakers addressed the lack of responsiveness by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service to tribal takeover demands. Contains 26 references. (SV)

Argues that the federal policy of granting U.S. citizenship to Lakota people is, in effect, a policy to extinguish the principle of Lakota political consent by "politically incorporating" the Lakota into the U.S. body politic. Examines how such incorporation is inconsistent with today's global political realities where self-determination…

Examines works by Deloria, Mathews, Forbes, Allen, and Vizenor concerning how American Indians can face challenges of asserting sovereignty and the place of traditional culture in the struggle. Argues that Indian intellectuals should pursue critical analysis of the dominant society and understanding of the Indian experience in wider contexts. (SV)

Although rich in theoretical constructs, American Indian Studies is not considered a discipline because it lacks a core assumption or paradigm. The concept of peoplehood could be that core assumption because its elements--language, sacred history, religion, and land--make up a complete system that accounts for particular behaviors of people…

At present, Congress is resuscitating the process of bilateral agreements that would restore some tribal autonomy to participating tribes. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has upheld federal-agency property rights or state interests over Indian rights to practice traditional religions and frequent sacred places. Contains 120 references. (SV)

Argues that terms such as self-determination and sovereignty, which were developed as political tools to influence federal Indian policy several decades ago, now contribute to an ideology that relieves Indian college students and scholars of their responsibilities to Indian communities. Suggests that American Indian Studies programs clarify what…

Native American Studies has failed to develop into an academic discipline because of the continued influence of postcolonial theories, attempts to discredit Native American scholars, politically determined research agendas, and the ideology of the "New Historicism." Native American Studies must seek autonomy from other opportunistic…

Reviews the history of racial nomenclature in the Americas with regard to indigenous peoples, African Americans, and mestizos (persons of mixed ancestry). Discusses influences of colonialism and racial discrimination on the naming of groups. Describes the Native American concept of identity as a series of concentric circles extending from one's…

Because the Internet is independent of spatial location and users are anonymous, it is nondiscriminatory. American Indians may find the Internet useful for educating outsiders about historical realities, but its use within tribal communities is another matter. The universalism and individualism of this powerful, deceptive technology are…

Examines legal and ethical issues related to Internet use and use of other technologies in Native American communities. Discusses conflict between federal telecommunications policy and the principles of tribal sovereignty, cultural appropriation, intellectual property rights, gatekeeping to limit access to traditional knowledge, and effects of…