| Summary: |
This book describes the struggle of American Indian tribes and their governments to achieve the goals of freedom and tribal sovereignty. Part 1 provides a case study of the Mississippi Choctaws and their efforts to reestablish their tribal government, and introduces the structure, function, and values of the traditional governments of the Haudensaunee (the Iroquois League), the Muscogees, the Lakotas, the Isleta Pueblo, and the Yakimas. Part 2 reviews the history of the relations between American Indians and the European colonial powers, and the relations between American Indians and the United States from the 1780s through the 1890s. This section also surveys the various and contradictory U.S. government policies in force since the end of the Indian wars and analyzes their effects on tribal governments. Part 3 examines in detail the effect that the U.S. government has had on the structures and powers of the modern governments of the tribes introduced in the first section. The powers of tribal governments are described, including tribally controlled education. Part 4 examines the parameters of tribes' relationships with both the federal and state governments, present limitations on tribal authority, and options that tribal governments have in directing their future development. This book contains an index, a glossary, numerous photographs, maps, figures, an extensive list of important events in American Indian history, and a bibliography of over 500 items. |
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