As 1 in a series of 24 American Indian biographies written for youth at the secondary level, this book details the sociocultural and professional development of Robert La Follette Bennett, a Wisconsin Oneida Indian who was born in 1912 and became the second Native American to hold the position of Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 1966. Emphasizing the relationship between Robert Bennett's socioeconomic/sociocultural background and his statesmanship, this book is divided into eight chapters titled as follows: (1) "The Oneidas" (an historical account of the Oneidas with emphasis upon their early cultural orientations); (2) "An Oneida Boyhood" (emphasis upon the Bennett family and the value they attached to education, resulting in Robert's entrance into Haskell Institute); (3) "Leaving Home" (the cultural shock of living at Haskell and working one summer in Arizona at a Navajo sanitorium); (4) "An Officer of the Ute Tribe" (the beginnings of an administrative style and recognition of the legal aspects of Indian affairs); (5) "The Ladder of Experience" (work in the Washington office of the BIA, exposure to Navajo policy makers, and acceptance of the BIA Assistant Area Directorship in Aberdeen, South Dakota); (6) "Alaska" (Alaska BIA Area Directorship); (7) "Commissioner of Indian Affairs"; and (8) "Indian Statesman" (the role of consultant). (JC)