Red Man's Land White Man's Law: Past and Present Status of the American Indian - Paperback

by Wilcomb E. Washburn (Author)

This is a history of the legal status of the American Indians and their land from the period of first contact with Europeans down to the present day. First published in 1971, this second edition contains a new preface and extensive afterword. "A brilliant analysis of the Indian's legal status, especially in regard to the land.Certainly no serious student of Indian-white relations can overlook this significant volume."--Pacific Historical Review

Back Jacket

Red Man's Land/White Man's Law is a history of the legal status of the American Indians and their land from the period of first contact with Europeans down to the present day. It begins with the efforts of colonial authorities - Spanish, British, and French - to deal with tribal sovereignty and carries the discussion of U.S.-Indian legal relations through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Tribal sovereignty was eroded from the very beginning, but more recently it has emerged as a powerful force in American and Canadian law and touches upon many current legal issues, such as land allotment and land claims; definitions of Indian status; hunting, fishing, and water rights; and tribal relations with Congress, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Canadian government. First published in 1971, this second edition contains a new preface and an extensive afterword discussing important legal events and issues in the last twenty-five years, making this a complete, up-to-date survey of legal relations between the United States and the American Indian.