U.S. Indian Policy

This survey of American Indian policy provides a short history of the mainly unsuccessful efforts by American Indians in the past to assert themselves, and then examines changing concepts relating to self-governance and political, economic, legal, educational, religious, and employment rights. This assessment of Indian opportunities and difficulties examines self-governance in relation to economic development, the redefinition of property rights, the status of development on Indian reservations, and the success some tribes have had in attempting to utilize their resources appropriately and more effectively.

'The author's detailed analysis of two centuries of federal policy makes The Great Father indispensable reading for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of American Indian policy.' - Journal of American History.

"This is a lucid and detailed account of the tragic effects of frontier expansion upon the native inhabitants of Minnesota. It depicts the condition of the eastern Sioux in the era of fur trading, considers the treaties that exchanged land for annuities, interprets the uprising of 1862, and traces Santee history."-Midcontinent American Studies Journal"A remarkably conprehensive study. . . . [Meyer] makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of American Indian policy. . . . The documentation is exceptionally full. . . . The tone throughout is judicious and moderate, yet the author's deep sympathy for his subject is evident."-Francis Paul Prucha, Minnesota History."This volume adds immeasurably to our historical knowledge about the fate of the Mdewakatons, Wahpekutes, Wahpetons, and Sissetons, the bands or divisions that constitute the Santee Sioux. . . . Meyer joins the few historians. . .who continue their studies beyond the military subjugation of the American Indian."-Donald J. Berthrong, Historical Society of Southern California."One of the most substantial additions to our knowledge of the Dakota to appear."-Ethnohistory."The book adds insight to the motivations of such famous individuals as Little Crow and Wabasha as well as the influential white men such as Taliaferro, Galbraith, and Bishop Whipple. . . . [It] not only brings the story of the Santee to its immediacy but offers the opportunity for this nation to learn something from history and profit from it."-Royal B. Hassrick, Colorado Magazine."The first real effort to deal with the history of this eastern division of the Sioux Nation. . . . it is all well written and rings true."-Choice.Since its original publication by the University of Nebraska Press in 1967, History of the Santee Sioux has become known as the definitive work on its subject. Now, in a revised edition, Roy W. Meyer brings the story of the Santees up to date.Roy W. Meyer is a professor emeritus of English at Mankato State University. His works include The Village Indians of the Upper Missouri: The Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras, also published by the University of Nebraska Press.