Highly recommended for individuals that will be working with American Indians in any way—as a literature Ph.D. student, I could not have fully understood some of the complexities of American Indian law and policy and the relationship between tribes and the Federal government without reading many of the selected essential documents in this collection. The book includes examples of “treaties, legislative enactments, judicial decisions, executive statements, and extracts from official commissions and committees” (back cover, American Indian Quarterly review).

Some of the “go to” documents in this collection (in my humble opinion) include:

“The Marshall Trilogy”
• Johnson and Graham’s Lessee v. William McIntosh, 1823 (p35)
• Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 1831 (p57)
• Worcester v. Georgia, 1832 (p60)

Land and Reservation Documents
• Transfer of Indian Affairs to the Department of the Interior, March 3, 1849 (p76)
• Establishment of a Reservation by Executive Order, May 29, 1873 (p142)
• Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock, January 5, 1903 (p201)
• Indian Claims Commission Act, August 13, 1946 (p231)

Federal Legalities
• Major Crimes Act, March 3, 1885 (p166)
• Rules for Indian Courts, August 27, 1892 (p185)
• Indian Citizenship Act, June 2, 1974 (p218)
• Wheeler-Howard Act (Indian Reorganization Act), June 19, 1934 (p223)
• Indian Crimes Act of 1976, Mary 29, 1976 (p277)
• Federal Acknowledgement of Indian Tribes, October 2, 1978 (p189)
• Federally Recognized Indian Tribes, March 3, 2000 (p368)

Protecting Indian Identity
• National Indian Forest Resources Management Act, 1990 (p330)
• Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 1990 (p332)
• Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 (p344)
• Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994 (p353)
• Indian Sacred Sites, Executive Order 13007, May 24, 1996 (p357)

Religious Freedoms
• Civil Rights Act of 1968, April 11, 1968 (p250)
• American Indian Religious Freedom Act, August 11, 1978 (p289)
• American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1994 (p349)

Education / Urban Indians
• Meriam Report, 1928 (p219)
• Public Law 280, August 15, 1953 (p234)
• Relocation of Indians in Urban Areas, 1954 (p238)
• Indian Education Act, June 23, 1972 (p263)
• Indian Child Welfare Act, November 8, 1978 (p294)

American Indian Gaming
• California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, 1987 (p314)
• Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 1988 (p322)