At the dawn of the twentieth century the universal consensus was that the American Indian was about to "vanish." More than two centuries of devastating wars, forced migrations, confinement, starvation, and disease had cost untold Indian lives, and the Native population was at a historic low. Pressure for land and resources was intense. Advocates and reformers urged the government to "assimilate" Indians by breaking up their remaining land base and stamping out tribal cultures.

Yet American Indians did not disappear. Rather, they have adapted and thrived, maintaining much of their...