The story, known as "The Theft of Fire," illustrates numerous meanings and teachings crucial to understanding Anishinaabe nationhood. This story contains two discernible points. First, it reveals how the Anishinaabe obtained fire. The second discernible feature within this story is the marking of the hare by his theft of fire. Stories…

In the spring of 2015, the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction brought together tribal Elders from across North Dakota to share stories, memories, songs, and wisdom in order to develop the North Dakota Native American Essential Understandings (NDNAEU) to guide the learning of both Native and non-Native students across the state. They…

This article seeks to explain the nature of the arguments the Iroquois presented to the US government in trying to prevent their removal. In the letters they wrote to the federal government from the 1830s to the 1850s they emphasized their own law as well as that of the United States. They drew on whatever perception of law they deemed was best…

This article examines a brief period of Lake Superior Ojibway history in detail. It describes the territorial dimensions of usufructuary rights and tells how one Ojibway community at Keweenaw Bay, William Jondreau's home, reorganized itself as an Anishnabe state in the 1840s and early 1850s. It also argues that this state-building grew out of…

American Indian treaties and treaty law may seem to fall solely within the purview of legal methodology and critical analysis, yet the 367 American Indian treaties signed with the US federal government beg for the type of dissection and analysis generally associated with cultural and literary critical theory. The tools by which texts are dissected…

Argues that the federal policy of granting U.S. citizenship to Lakota people is, in effect, a policy to extinguish the principle of Lakota political consent by "politically incorporating" the Lakota into the U.S. body politic. Examines how such incorporation is inconsistent with today's global political realities where self-determination…

Examines development of federal-Indian trust relationship and separate "government-government" relationship between U.S. government and federally recognized tribes. Analyzes inconsistencies produced by government's administration of two relationships. Sees trust relationship (guardianship doctrine) as one aspect of government-government…

Presents a brief history of the Cherokee Nation, from its first contact with De Soto in 1540 through Andrew Jackson's presidency. Concludes that the Cherokee removal clearly illustrates the shallowness of Jacksonian democratic principles. (JDH)

After years of hardship and despite owning only 12 percent of its own reservation, the Nez Perce tribe is successfully pursuing community development. Factors include energetic tribal government, good intratribal communications, integrated planning for economic development and forest resource management, and emphasis on cultural preservation and…

With the backing of America's wealthy citizenry, Joseph Dixon organized the 1913 Expedition of Citizenship in an effort to advance the acculturation of American Indians. Dixon's efforts were a melodramatic charade in which the Indians gained nothing but patriotic rituals, still practiced at tribal meetings and powwows. Too late, Dixon realized the…

Viewing indigenous peoples of the United States as ethnic/racial minorities is a misconception because there is no given ethnicity which might be correctly said to encompass the more than 400 distinctly identifiable ethnicities comprising what is lumped in the catchall category of "Native Americans" and because notions of ethnic/racial minority…

Describes the history of taxation of Nebraska land held by federal government for Omaha and Winnebago Indians. Explains taxation of land "trust allotments" to individual Indians. Describes federal legislation of 1910 and 1916 that further authorized Nebraska taxation of land, causing many Indians to sell allotments. Contains 42…

This book describes the struggle of American Indian tribes and their governments to achieve the goals of freedom and tribal sovereignty. Part 1 provides a case study of the Mississippi Choctaws and their efforts to reestablish their tribal government, and introduces the structure, function, and values of the traditional governments of the…

This curriculum unit introduces students to the relationship between the federal government and American Indians through five narrative descriptions of the related legislation, laws, and court interpretations. The narratives cover: (1) the historical basis of federal Indian law and the government-to-government relationship; (2) legal definitions…

Discusses the controversy surrounding the ends of the Treaty of New Echota (the removal of eastern Cherokees from their land). Describes the Cherokee's route and the hardships they endured during their trek to the Indian Territory beyond the Mississippi, known as the "Trail of Tears." Provides nine teaching suggestions. (CMK)