American Indians have suffered a series of alterations in federal/tribal relations with rebuilding of Indian communities revived one moment but dashed the next by changes in national policy. This collection of papers focuses on consequences of an ever-changing American Indian policy and its impact on the lives and cultural values of American Indians. Major topics are: (1) the Indian New Deal, accompanied by both policy contradictions and successful revitalization of tribal viability under the Office of Economic Opportunity; (2) the Indian Reorganization Act and its contributions to the instability of tribal governments on some reservations and the legal course of Public Law 280 (transferring federal civil and criminal jurisdiction over Indians to some states); (3) pro-Indian legislation of the 1970s, including the American Indian Religious Freedom Act; (4) economic issues and economic development projects in three different Indian communities; (5) federal funding priorities and higher education policies manipulating Indian education; (6) Native American languages and communication norms that could enhance the education of Indian children and open new linguistic research avenues; and (7) a recent study of the Indian elderly that highlights differences between the rural and urban populations. This book contains 183 references. (DHP)