Archive Report
Archive Report
Growth of Indian Assertiveness
Variety of Legal Actions on Indian Rights
American Indians have embarked on a campaign to seek restitution for what they charge has been more than two centuries of exploitation, fraud and double-dealing by the government and the white majority. In contrast to past campaigns that sought redress through often-violent confrontations, the country's most impoverished minority is now working within the political system to settle its grievances. The Indians are taking their case to court, and their suits—the most publicized of which is a claim by two tribes to a large part of the state of Maine—are being taken very seriously.
At the heart of the legal battle is the issue of tribal sovereignty that was acknowledged in almost 400 treaties between the government ...