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Wicazo Sa Review 17.1 (2002) 7-12



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Annotated Bibliography of the Basic Literature Needed for an Understanding of Tribal Governance

Charles F. Wilkinson and Anna Nikole Ulrich


For a scholar of the indigenous peoples of the United States, the beginning of this new century is an exciting time. The area of tribal governance, in particular, demonstrates how far tribes have come in the last fifty years. And the momentum gained in recent decades suggests that the tribes' successes will continue into the twenty-first century.

During the 1950s, Indians in the United States were facing the ultimate challenge to survival. Poverty and despair reigned supreme on the reservations. Congress had officially adopted the policy of termination, the program designed to end federal supervision of tribes and called for selling off Indian lands.

Tribal leaders across the nation recognized the crisis and in time responded to the challenge. They decided to fight termination and reestablish the tribes' sovereignty. With patience and determination, Indian leaders caused the reversal of the termination policy and achieved other successes as well.

Today, although many problems still exist on the reservations, the progress of tribes cannot be disputed. For example, tribal lands have been increased, traditional practices are being revived, and the economic situation is improving on many reservations. Most important, the majority of decisions are made on the reservation by tribal councils and not by federal or state government officials. In the next century, the battle will be to maintain and expand the victories the tribes have won in the courts, the legislatures, and on the reservations. [End Page 7]

This annotated bibliography attempts to set out some of the basic literature needed for understanding the past, present, and future of tribal governance.

History

An indispensable component to understanding modern tribal governance in the United States is a working knowledge of the past. The standard history of federal-tribal relations is Francis Paul Prucha's The Great Father: The United States Government and the American Indians, available in both a two-volume set and an abridged paperback version. D'Arcy McNickle also provides historical context in They Came Here First: The Epic of the American Indian. Another general history, which emphasizes Oklahoma Indians, is Angie Debo's A History of the Indians of the United States.

American Indian Policy in the Formative Years: Indian Trade and Intercourse Acts, 1790-1834, by Francis Paul Prucha, gives insight into one of the most important eras in federal Indian policy. A Final Promise: The Campaign to Assimilate the Indians, 1880-1920, by Frederick Hoxie, examines the allotment era. Kenneth Philp, in Termination Revisited: American Indians on the Trail to Self-Determination, 1933-1953, comprehensively treats termination. Robert A. Williams Jr.'s The American Indian in Western Legal Thought: The Discourses of Conquest is a scholarly book that demonstrates how law, considered Anglo-American society's most respected civilizing tool, was also its most effective tool for the colonization of the American Indians.

Tribal Sovereignty

Any student new to the field of tribal governance would be wise to turn to the works of Vine Deloria Jr., one of the preeminent experts on the topic. The best place to start would be Deloria's Custer Died for Your Sins. The book, originally written in 1969, was a resoundingly successful battle cry for the modern tribal sovereignty movement. Also by Deloria, along with Clifford Lytle, is The Nations Within: The Past and Future of American Indian Sovereignty, which describes the history and future of tribal self-government.

Tribal Courts

A second author whom any student of modern tribal governance should read is Frank Pommersheim. In Braid of Feathers: American Indian Law and Contemporary Tribal Life, Pommersheim gives us a view of tribal courts from the reservation level. In particular, he demonstrates how the work of tribes and their leaders is bringing justice and fair play to Indian country as well as promoting the goal of tribal sovereignty. [End Page 8]

Another book by Deloria and Lytle is American Indians, American Justice...

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