When used in the 1950s primarily as an alternative to reservation economic development, relocation failed to achieve its intended goals. It failed to reduce federal commitment to Indian welfare, promote cultural assimilation, or improve the economic status of Indians. Indians with existing job skills and off-reservation experience--the most…

Presents a hypothesis about what is characteristically North American in social theory, proceeding from three concepts that recur throughout the theology and cosmology of aboriginal Americans: individual conscience, universal kinship, and the endless creative power of the world. Concludes that from an aboriginal American perspective, industrial…

Although 1887-1930 is characterized as the period of assimilation, American Indian policy during that time included coercion to acquire tribal land and natural resources. This policy is illustrated by the experience of the Gros Ventres and Assiniboines of Fort Belknap Reservation who lost control of timber, minerals, and water rights. (JHZ)

This handbook presents information and resource materials on various aspects of Native American education. Chapters 1-2 trace the history of Native education in the 18th-20th centuries, including the loss of Indian lands and movement west, Christian conversion and acculturation as the main motivations for providing Native American education,…

For hundreds of years, central and western New York had been inhabited by the six member nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. During the colonial period, the French, Dutch, and British coveted its strategic location along an important fur trade route. The Mohawk Valley's rich farmland also yielded great quantities of food, and the land attracted…

This book is designed to provide an introductory synthesis of the history and sociocultural evolution of Native American peoples in the Far West, with strong emphasis on California and Nevada. The book focuses particularly on those historical and cultural experiences likely to have contributed to the present conditions of Native communities and…

This book relates the history of the Choctaw Nation before and after the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forced some Mississippi Choctaw to flee to Oklahoma. Some Choctaws nonetheless chose to remain in Mississippi, and today the tribe occupies eight reservation communities scattered throughout that state. The book constitutes a case study of…

This paper summarizes responses of students in grades K-3 to questions about Native Americans. The paper draws on findings from two studies, both done in a suburban school system deemed "average" on a variety of educational and socioeconomic indicators. In each study, samples of students stratified by gender and achievement level were…

This paper documents a single year in the history of Navajo education from the perspective of the Navajo Agent Dennis Matthew Riordan. It draws on Riordan's correspondence, 1882-83, with the Secretary of the Interior, with Captain Richard Henry Pratt at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, and with his brother. In December 1882, Riordan arrived…

Part of a larger report on the Four Directions Project, an American Indian technology innovation project, this section includes 10 "pathfinders" to locating information on Native American cultural themes. The pathfinders were designed by students in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at…

This annotated bibliography is designed to help Montana K-12 teachers integrate authentic Native American literature into their curricula. A thematic approach to literature is encouraged, so that students may make meaningful connections between the classroom and their personal worlds. Accordingly, the entries are categorized according to the…

Describes an interdisciplinary college course on the Plains Indians, team-taught by history and literature professors. Outlines issues related to team teaching, organization of course content and selection of print and video instructional materials, classroom practice, and lessons learned. A course outline and exam essay questions are appended.…

Explores two historical periods that preceded the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978: the boarding and mission school era (1880s-1950s) and the Indian adoption era (1950s-70s). The assimilationist social welfare policy of those two eras led to the eventual need for special legislation that protects tribal self-determination, heritage, and family…

Explores North American Indian beliefs about witchcraft and witch-hunting. Focuses on the ideas and actions of the Iroquois about witchcraft. Addresses the changes in ideas of North American Indians living in the nineteenth century. Notes the transition from men and women perceived as witches to mostly females. (CMK)

Examines history of Christian missionaries among the Choctaws in Mississippi area during 18th and 19th centuries. Describes agreements and conflicts between Indians, missionaries and federal government, especially regarding Indian education. Relationships apparently based on missionaries' desire to convert Indians and Choctaws' desire to learn…