Native and non-Native Americans from a number of disciplines examine issues that have affected Native American since the founding of the US. They present essays on relations between the US and Native Americans, the courts and congress, state and federal power, law and the land, and recent movements such as gaming and the American Indian Movement. Texts are also provided for 68 relevant documents ranging from the 1787 creation of the Northwest Territory to the Bureau of Indian Affairs apology in September 2000. Appendices provide lists of cases and statutes, and four maps of land cessations at different moments in US history.

Native Americans and the founding of the United States /Donald A. Grinde -- The enduring influence of Native American ideas on American government / Bruce E. Johansen -- Native American self-government and its impact on democracy's development / Bruce E. Johansen -- Native American treaties : diplomacy and legality / Vine Deloria -- Subverting the law of nations : American Indian rights and U.S. distortions of international legality / Ward Churchill -- Native American self-government / Philip L. Fetzer -- Native Americans and civil rights / Donald A. Grinde. Native Americans and judicial review / Philip L. Fetzer -- Native Americans and equal protection / Carole Goldberg -- Red, black, and divided : federal recognition and the imposition of identity on the Seminole Nation / Natsu Taylor Saito -- The Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 : barriers to implementation and recommendations for the future / Carol A. Markstrom -- The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and American Indian religious freedom / James Riding In -- The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 / Lawrence W. Gross. Scope of state power in American Indian affairs / David E. Wilkins -- State and federal law and California Indians / Jack Norton -- Native American tribal property / Stacy L. Leeds -- Native American Water Rights and Winters Doctrine (1908) / M.A. Jaimes-Guerrero -- Hunting, fishing, and gathering rights / Philip L. Fetzer -- Tribal governments and environmental protection / Dean B. Suagee -- Indian gaming / Philip L. Fetzer -- Native American gaming in California / Joely De La Torre -- Native American rights and the American Indian movement / Donald A. Grinde.