It was the purpose of this 1958 paper to demonstrate to the Commission on the Rights, Liberties, and Responsibilities of the American Indian how Indian tribes were first dealt with as sovereign nations and how this concept has changed through time (particularly from 1948 to 1958). When the sovereign-nations or treaty period came to a close, the Indian people were moved under the domination of Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and became wards of the U.S. Government. Next came a period when the Indians were compelled through the Allotment Act and educational influences to move toward complete acculturation and full citizenship, with those Indian people who remained on reservations being encouraged to adopt constitutions and to incorporate under charters as local communities that could bargain with business concerns, counties, states, and the Federal Government. The successes of the tribal groups led to termination of Federal responsibilities for those tribes because acculturation was assumed; however, the terminated tribes met with failure due to lack of resources. The result was fear by other Indian tribes that success meant termination. Thus, as long as the Termination Resolution remains on the books, it is felt that it will be difficult for Indian people to take full advantage of Federal programs. The paper contains 4 sections: The Historical Setting, The Recent Background to Termination Legislation, Canadian Enfranchisement Compared to Termination, and Identifying Kinds of Federal Withdrawal. (LS)