American Indian Sovereignty and the U.S. Supreme Court

A Lumbee Indian, David E. Wilkins is Associate Professor of Political Science and American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. Legal Masks, Legal ConsciousnessChapter 2. The Era of Defining Tribes, Their Lands, and Their SovereigntyChapter 3. The Era of Congressional Ascendancy over Tribes: 1886-1903Chapter 4. The Era of "Myths": Citizenship, Nomadism, and Moral ProgressChapter 5. The Era of Judicial Backlash and Land ClaimsChapter 6. The Era of the Imperial JudiciaryChapter 7. Removing the MasksAppendix A. Cases CitedAppendix B. Supreme Court Justices Authoring the Fifteen Opinions AnalyzedNotesGlossaryReferencesIndex

A detailed, thorough analysis of 15 US Supreme Court cases involving Native Americans. . . . The cases range from the well-known Johnson v. M’Intosh to the little-known Ward v. Racehorse, but all are instance in which the Court has mistakenly ‘limited or terminated the rights of indigenous peoples.’ In each case the author notes the errors the justices made and the ‘judicial masks’ that have often enabled them to ignore reality and morality. . . . Judicious and persuasive, he provides new information and insights in this important field. A must read for tribal officials, attorneys, judges, public officials, and others concerned with Native American affairs. (Choice)