Documents of Native American Political Development

"The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1934, intended to reverse federal Indian policy from coercive assimilation of Native peoples to a policy that emphasized a strong measure of self-rule, ushered in a period of political, legal, and economic revitalization of Native peoples that continues to this day. Until very recently, little attention has been paid to the political dynamics operating within Indian Country and the nearly 570 federally-recognized Native nations living throughout the US. From 1934 to the present, this volume brings together a great many of these hard to find or previously unavailable primary source documents. It will also include international and interest group documents, statements by prominent Native and non-Native individuals, court cases, documents that detail the intergovernmental relationships between Native and non-Native communities, and documents featuring legal or institutional innovations that display the political acumen and diversity of Native nations. The documents are arranged chronologically, and Wilkins provides brief, introductory essays to each document, placing them within their proper context. Each introduction is followed by a brief list