American Indian Policy in the Twentieth Century

by Vine Deloria Jr.

Until now, books about American Indian Policy have dealt with laws and acts long since adopted and in effect. In American Indian Policy in the Twentieth Century, edited by Vine Deloria, Jr., a group of writers deals with present realities and future possibilities, taking the lead in encouraging discussion and further research into areas of concern to American Indians. Against the background of the larger field of Indian affairs, these authors suggest new ways of thinking about specific Joyotpaul Chaudhuri ― "American Indian An Overview" Sharon O'Brien ― "Federal Indian Policies and the International Protection of Human Rights" Fred L. Ragsdale, Jr. ― "The Deception of Geography" Michael Lacy ― "The United States and American Political Relations" Daniel McCool ― "Indian Voting" Tom Holm ― "The Crisis in Tribal Government" David L. Vinje ― "Cultural Values and Economic Development on Reservations" Robert A. Nelson and Joseph F. Sheley ― "BIA Influence on Indian Self-Determination" Mary Wallace ― "The Supreme Court and Indian Water Rights" John Petoskey ― "Indians and the First Amendment" Vine Deloria, Jr. ― "The Evolution of Federal Indian Policy Making" The articles treat both historical problems and current issues that must be confronted if Indians are to move forward to stabilize their communities and protect their rights and resources. In part speculative, the book defines many of the factors that bear on the formation of policies at the federal level, and it discusses new institutions and legislation that can assist American Indians, enabling tribal members and other individuals to better understand their present status and draw reasonable conclusions about their future. This book will be of interest in several fields of study. History and law classes, short courses on Indian affairs, tribal governments and training programs, and state agencies that deal with Indians will find it of benefit, as well as the general reader interested in the welfare and future of American Indians.

Genres: Native American, American History, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Vine Victor Deloria, Jr. was an American Indian author, theologian, historian, and activist. He was widely known for his book Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (1969), which helped generate national attention to Native American issues in the same year as the Alcatraz-Red Power Movement. From 1964–1967, he had served as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, increasing tribal membership from 19 to 156. Beginning in 1977, he was a board member of the National Museum of the American Indian, which now has buildings in both New York City and Washington, DC.

Deloria began his academic career in 1970 at Western Washington State College at Bellingham, Washington. He became Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona (1978–1990), where he established the first master's degree program in American Indian Studies in the United States. After ten years at the University of Colorado, Boulder, he returned to Arizona and taught at the School of Law.

Reviews

[Rachel Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

American Indian Policy in the Twentieth Century is a near-treatise from multiple writers on its titular subject, how Indian law has been addressed and formed in the past century. Eleven different scholars and writers address the issues between Indian tribes and the federal government, with specific attention to treaty rights, water rights, the First Amendment, as well as other specific Supreme Court cases that have shaped the direction for policies affecting Native Americans.

The book overall was pretty dull, and many of the writers seemed to assume that their readers already knew the background for many of the federal court cases they discussed. I did know a few of them, but even the ones I did know were very dense and hard to follow. I realized along the way that writing is amazing: some writers you can read so easily and be enthralled by, while others you deplore and can barely slog your way through. The latter was unfortunately the case for most of these writers.

As usual, the highlight of the book was editor Vine Deloria, Jr.,'s own contribution, an essay with a chronology of Indian-white relations in the past century, which was what I was hoping for from the entire book when I went into it. Deloria concisely summed up twentieth century attitudes on Indian policy while also offering some powerful judgments on past, present and future policy. Keeping in mind this book was first published in 1985, American Indian Policy in the Twentieth Century was an interesting look at some of the more recent changes in federal Indian law, but Deloria was right in the end when he said there still remains to be seen whether things will get better.

[Diane Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

American Indian policies are riddled with contradictions and complexities belying the varying attitudes held by the US towards the natives since it was founded. Moving forward, what would the policies look like? This is a difficult question which has stumped many brilliant minds for decades. This book begins to explain the difficulty. A selection of essay written by various experts on different aspects of policy, this is of course maddening and heartbreaking but also more balanced than one might think. A good introduction (if also outdated; the last essay looks forward to the pending casino activity that had been granted the Indians).