"A newly discovered document sheds light on Indian self-governance"
Felix Cohen (1907-1953) was a leading architect of the Indian New Deal and steadfast champion of American Indian rights. Appointed to the Department of the Interior in 1933, he helped draft the Indian Reorganization Act (1934) and chaired a committee charged with assisting tribes in organizing their governments. His "Basic Memorandum on Drafting of Tribal Constitutions," submitted in November 1934, provided practical guidelines for that effort.
Largely forgotten until Cohen's papers were released more than half a...
"A newly discovered document sheds light on Indian self-governance"
Felix Cohen (1907-1953) was a leading architect of the Indian New Deal and st...
Volume 2 in the American Indian Law and Policy Series
"The Choctaws in Oklahoma" begins with the Choctaws' removal from Mississippi to Indian Territory in the 1830s and then traces the history of the tribe's subsequent efforts to retain and expand its rights and to reassert tribal sovereignty in the late twentieth century.
As Clara Sue Kidwell tells it, the Choctaws' story illuminates a key point in contemporary scholarship on the history of American Indians: that they were not passive victims of colonization and did not assimilate quietly into American society. Adapting to the very...
Volume 2 in the American Indian Law and Policy Series
"The Choctaws in Oklahoma" begins with the Choctaws' removal from Mississippi to Indian Ter...
When it adopted a new constitution in 1969, the Seminole Nation was the first of the Five Tribes in Oklahoma to formally reorganize its government. In the face of an American legal system that sought either to destroy its nationhood or to impede its self-government, the Seminole Nation tenaciously retained its internal autonomy, cultural vitality, and economic subsistence. Here, L. Susan Work draws on her experience as a tribal attorney to present the first legal history of the twentieth-century Seminole Nation.
When it adopted a new constitution in 1969, the Seminole Nation was the first of the Five Tribes in Oklahoma to formally reorganize its government. In...
VOLUME 3 IN THE AMERICAN INDIAN AND POLICY SERIES A critical evaluation of a new era in American Indian policy Over the past twenty years, American Indian policy has shifted from self-determination to "forced federalism," as indigenous nations in the United States have encountered new threats from state and local governments over such issues as taxation, gaming, and homeland security. During the forced federalism era (1988-present), public perceptions of indigenous peoples as "rich Indians" have been just as damaging to Native nations as anti-sovereignty legislation. This book examines how...
VOLUME 3 IN THE AMERICAN INDIAN AND POLICY SERIES A critical evaluation of a new era in American Indian policy Over the past twenty years, American In...
