This book examines the formation of U.S. government policy toward the American Indian tribes during the period 1820-1890. Chapter 1 describes the early 19th century debate between the Gradualists, who believed in the peaceful assimilation of the Indians into white society, and the Removalists, who advocated forced removal of the tribes to the…

More than 60 historical documents related to the struggle of American Indian nations to preserve their sovereignty from the first resistance to the European invasions of the Americas up to and including the present are contained in this chronicle. Covering the period from 1622 to 1978, this updated version is expanded to include documents…

Between the end of the Roosevelt era and the beginning of the Kennedy administration, less traditional Native Americans, congressional leaders, and government administrators developed a policy that they hoped would integrate the Indian population with mainstream America. To this end, they enacted laws to terminate the government's trusteeship of…