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…

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…

The primary purpose of this paper is to examine and analyze the evolution of the historical status of American Indians under international law, while recognizing the legal nature of Indian treaties, as well as their jurisdictional scope and binding character. (Author/RTS)

This article is an attempt to explain the background to the request for a Presidential Treaty Commission by the Lakota Treaty Council. (RTS)

This article is a transcript of a radio interview conducted by Denise Freeland for "Kaleidoscope" at American University, Washington, D.C. The topic "Understanding Indian Treaties" is addressed by Kirke Kickingbird and Alex Skibine of the Institute for the Development of Indian Law. (RTS)

The relationship between Native Americans and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is ambivalent. Most BIA commissioners, like Dillon Myer, have been assimilationists who have tried to get the government "out of Indian business." Recent policies stressing self-determination are in jeopardy as pressure mounts for decreased federal domestic…

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…

In 1987, the United States Senate established the Special Committee to investigate American Indian affairs. Fraud, corruption, and mismanagement were found pervading the institutions serving American Indians. Corruption was also discovered in Indian tribal governments. The Committee faulted Congress for failing to adequately oversee and reform…

First tracing the historical background of Canadian-Indian policy, article then presents an in-depth analysis of the Indian Act, the mainstay of that policy. Apparently little has changed over the years: the Indian Act continues to thwart Indian sovereignty and self-determination. (Author/DS)

During the nineteenth century, the expansion of the United States at the expense of Native Americans was achieved more through diplomatic and legal manipulation than by military conquest. The Supreme Court played a critical role by providing legal justification for the loss of sovereignty rather than neutral arbitration. (JHZ)

Throughout the nineteenth century Anishinaabeg leaders from the Great Lakes met in treaty councils with U.S. commissioners. Trained for years as astute listeners and eloquent speakers, these diplomats put their skills to the test as they negotiated with their non-Indian counterparts, whose primary responsibility was to serve the interests of the…

The unit of study is intended to bring information and rational thought to the controversial Native American treaty issue. It begins with an explanation of the concepts behind the unit's minimal student learning expectations. Fifteen lesson plans are organized into three one-week sub-units consisting of an introductory game illustrating the…

Designed to expose high school students to the complexities of the bureaucratic structure of the Federal Government (especially that of the structure and organization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and its relationship to tribal governments), this curriculum bulletin provides a guide for exploring the Federal Government's responsibilities to…