The Nations Within: The Past and Future of American Indian Sovereignty

by Vine Deloria Jr., Clifford M. Lytle

"Those of us who try to understand what is happening in North American Indian communities have learned to see Vine Deloria, Jr., both as an influential actor in the ongoing drama and also as its most knowledgeable interpreter. This new book on Indian self-rule is the most informative that I have seen in my own half-century of reading. Deloria and his co-author focus on John Collier's struggle with both the U.S. Congress and the Indian tribes to develop a New Deal for Indians fifty years ago. It is a blow-by-blow historical account, perhaps unique in the literature, which may be the only way to show the full complexity of American Indian relations with federal and state governments. This makes it possible in two brilliant concluding chapters to clarify current Indian points of view and to build onto initiatives that Indians have already taken to suggest which of these might be most useful for them to pursue. The unheeded message has been clear throughout history, but now we see how?if we let Indians do it their own way?they might, more quickly than we have imagined, rebuild their communities." ?Sol Tax, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Universityof Chicago

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Indigenous, Indigenous History, Native American, Native American History, Politics

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Vine Victor Deloria, Jr. was an American Indian author, theologian, historian, and activist. He was widely known for his book Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto (1969), which helped generate national attention to Native American issues in the same year as the Alcatraz-Red Power Movement. From 1964–1967, he had served as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, increasing tribal membership from 19 to 156. Beginning in 1977, he was a board member of the National Museum of the American Indian, which now has buildings in both New York City and Washington, DC.

Deloria began his academic career in 1970 at Western Washington State College at Bellingham, Washington. He became Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona (1978–1990), where he established the first master's degree program in American Indian Studies in the United States. After ten years at the University of Colorado, Boulder, he returned to Arizona and taught at the School of Law.

Reviews

[Jacob Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spent my 2 days at Philalalia reading Vine Deloria's the Nations Within: the Past and Future of American Indian Sovereignty. A remarkable book--for the range and depth of the ground covered, and for it's writing. This is some pretty dry material... pages and pages of House and Senate committee hearings--and he makes compelling reading of them.
A one volume history of the legal struggles between the United States and the first peoples of North America, that does much more than recount that history, but uses it to frame the most fundamental questions around the ideas of self determination and self government (he makes this an important distinction), the conflicts between those who identify as "ethnic" , trans-tribal Indians and traditionalists. Two days well spent.

[Ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a history of two conjoined topics: Indian tribal government and US relations with the Indian tribes. [The authors use "Indian" to describe the people in question, and I will adopt their terminology.]

The two topics are closely coupled. As the authors go to some trouble to show, tribal government as we know it is largely a product of US policy. Before contact, tribal government was highly anarchic -- some people were respected elders, some were trusted leaders, but there simply wasn't the sort of definite hierarchy and law that we are used to in old world contexts. The existence of formalized tribal government was a consequence of the United States demanding that there be tribal representatives to work through -- both as a counterparty in negotiations and as a conduit for funding. The first quarter or so of the book Telles this story.

The middle half of the book is a study of Indian policy in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly the policy of John Collier and the Wheeler-Howard Act, which partly reflected his thinking. I hadn't understood how much of our current legal structure is a consequence of that act. Before Wheeler-Howard, the system was that the tribes were largely left alone and unrecognized; the reservations were overseen by BIA officers, who were not required to negotiate with any particular counterparties. All our notions of "recognized tribal governments" running reservation lands are a consequence of Collier's policy.

The last quarter of the book discusses policy since then. The synopsis is that Washington has been by turns generous and apathetic towards the tribes; periodically there are promises to dispense money and build infrastructure; periodically budgets are cut and those promises unkept.

I was struck how...calm the book was, given how emotionally fraught the topic. The authors acknowledge the unhappy truth that it is not possible to turn back the clock to 1491 and that tribes will need organization that they previously did not.

My biggest point of unease was the author's relative inattention to economics. They mention that the division of reservation lands into individual allotments makes it infeasible for the residents to adopt traditional hunter-gatherer traditions. They do not mention that we expect a much higher, and much more expensive standard of living than the tribes had in 1491; that means, if we expect economic self-sufficiency, that the large majority of reservation residents have to find activities other than food production and preferably that outsiders will pay for.

[Michelle Boyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful piece of scholarship that details American Indian sovereignty—which is the inherent right of American Indian nations to self-govern without interruption from the United States government. However, sovereignty has a flux and flow and changes depending on current moods of the federal government. This book discusses these complexities that makes the text quite intriguing, despite the fact that at some points you will be reading committee hearings (which are, unfortunately, rather dull).

Chapter 1: A Status Higher than States discusses what makes American Indians unique; “they represent the only aboriginal peoples still practicing a form of self-govern in the midst of a wholly new and modern civilization that has been transported to their lands” (p2). Keep in mind this statement was made in 1984 (reprinted in 1998) and there are some Indigenous communities attempting to regain their rights to self-govern. When British colonizers came to North America, they saw no reason to allow American Indians to govern themselves (largely in part because of their desires to eradicate or assimilate them). But, in the Constitution, American Indians are directly mentioned as an identifiable group—giving evidence of their sovereignty pre-contact. And in 1924, the language of the Indian Citizenship Act suggests that “all Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States” have full US citizenship, but also that “such status does not infringe upon the rights to tribal and other property that Indians enjoy as members of their tribes” (p3). This opening chapter also provides readers with some key definitions, including peoplehood (p12), nationhood (p13), and self-government (p14) all of which are not necessary simple to define when working with law and policy. And of course, the chapter points: “Self-government is not an Indian idea. It originates in the minds of non-Indians who have reduced the traditional ways to dust, or believe they have, and now wish to give, as a gift, a limited measure of local control and responsibility” (p15).

Chapter 2: Domestic Dependent Nations outlines the legislation that deemed American Indians to be “domestic dependent nations”—meaning they are “distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights” but also that they need the support (ie: protection) of the United States in order to exist (p17). This definition came from Chief Justice Marshall when he ruled in the Marshall Trilogy (Johnson v. McIntosh, Worcester v. Georgia, and Cherokee Nation v. Georgia). Another important point: “self-government is not and cannot be the same as self-determination” (p19).

Chapter 10: The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and the Collier Bill: A comparison is a great chapter for those interested in further understanding the concept of self-government, and the power/requirements needed to establish a local self-government. This chapter really delves into a discussion of tribal power, which I found to be quite captivating despite the fact that the material might be technical from time to time.

Chapter 14: The Indian Civil Rights Act is another chapter that I highly recommend for those interested in any form of civil rights and its effect on different communities. This chapter discusses the way in which civil rights movements altered the tribal power from nation to nation. There is a ripple, which moves down to individual tribal courts, etc.

The conclusion chapter discusses the future of American Indian nations, and has some interesting developments since it was written. I find it interesting to compare some of these “predictions” to the realities we see in contemporary American Indian governance. There are also several appendixes that offer good information, and the citations are helpful for further research or further reading on these subjects.

[Marilyn Sue Michel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lengthy description of John Collier's legislative work in the 1930s may be of most interest to a lawyer, but the final chapters address self-determination, self-government and true democracy among the First Nations. True democracy may require lengthy, intense arguing and stress, but may produce better changes, and a community which feels it has been heard.

[Jordan St. Stier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and well-written book. The book presents information very well and quite convincingly, and the topic and history of American Indian Sovereignty is well addressed.

[Steve Wehling · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the foundational books on the topic of American Indian Law. It explains the difficult position of American Indian government and cultural independence within the context of being sovereign, yet subject to the U.S. government.

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't finished this book and doubt that I will. I think I read enough to understand where the authors are presenting from but I find too much mysticism too sustain me. Still a well but together book if you have an I terest in Native American philosophy.

[Christaaay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still learning about Native history, but The Nations Within lays out the negotiations between the US government and the sovereign tribes with what appears to be a balanced perspective. Cites and lists sources.

Immensely helpful.