Hundreds of Native American tribes are classified as sovereign governments, a murky legal status that this study (part of the Penguin Library of American Indian History) struggles to clarify. Duthu, a law professor and member of the Houma tribe, reviews statute and case law on tribal sovereignty, especially recent Supreme Court decisions that are at odds with Congress's modern friendliness toward tribal self-determination. His dense, dry survey explores such topics as tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians living on reservations, tribal natural resources and environmental policy, adoption law for Indian children and the perennial wrangling between tribal and state governments over taxes, regulation and gambling. Roiling these issues are two conflicts: the clash between tribal sovereignty and congressional power to legislate on Indian affairs, and the tension between tribal group rights and individual rights. Duthu's sympathies are clear: he dismisses critics of special tribal rights as ignorant and castigates infringements of tribal sovereignty as motivated by neocolonialist views of Indians as a dying race; but his focus on legal precedent and convention regarding tribal sovereignty rather than its concrete benefits fails to make a compelling case for the necessity of such sovereignty. (Feb. 4) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

In the 1832 case Worcester v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that Indian tribes were distinct political entities and thus held sovereignty within their territorial boundaries. The ruling proved a pyrrhic victory, since the Cherokees who won the case soon discovered that the Supreme Court's decision did not prevent the federal government from moving the tribe from their traditional homelands to Oklahoma. The inconsistency evident in the interpretation of the Worcester case has plagued the legal relationship between Indian peoples and legal entities at the state and federal levels up to the present day. Using numerous legal cases, Duthu (Vermont Law School), a lawyer and Houma Indian Nation tribal member, demonstrates how Indian sovereignty has affected the way in which the rights of native peoples have been addressed by the legal systems in the United States. The cases are contextualized to show how the rights of native peoples have evolved over time. The author also addresses how legal issues arising between competing Indian interests have set legal precedents that further complicate the legal landscape. This outstanding overview of the morass that is the legal relationship between Indian nations and the United States is highly recommended for public and academic libraries. John Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

In the latest offering in Penguin's Library of American Indian History, Duthu, law professor and member of Louisiana's Houma tribe, addresses the fundamental principle underlying American Indian law-the fact that Indian tribes are also sovereign governments-and how that principle has affected federal Indian law for nearly 200 years. Duthu provides an overview of legal principles governing the relationships between Indian tribes, the federal government, and the states. He also looks at what remains of tribal homelands, how tribal stewardship efforts are legally supported, and how respect for individual civil rights is reconciled with the rights of tribes. Finally, he attempts to identify those "strands of diplomatic practice" that continue to place Indian tribes within the nation's constitutional framework. From the landmark 1832 decision of the Marshall Court, maintaining the integrity of tribal homelands, Duthu traces a progression of court cases that both dilute and uphold that decision, concluding with a congressional bill written in 2002, but not yet introduced in Congress, that would further strengthen tribal powers within their boundaries. Donovan, Deborah. From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Preface and Acknowledgments	xi
General Overview of Federal Indian Policy: Major Policies, Statutes and Cases	xv
Introduction	xxi
Part 1 Indian Tribes as Governments
Chapter 1 The Dignity of Tribal Governments	3
Chapter 2 1978-A Watershed Year in Indian Law	16
Chapter 3 Creeping Constitutionalism from the Temple	35
Part 2 Tribal Homelands
Chapter 4 Identifying the Contours of Indian Country	65
Chapter 5 Stewards of the Natural World	91
Chapter 6 Revitalizing Tribal Economies	116
Part 3 Accommodating the First Sovereigns
Chapter 7 Individual Rights and Tribal Communal Interests	137
Chapter 8 A Question of Institutional Fit	164
Part 4 Foundations for Respectful Coexistence
Chapter 9 Avoiding Mistakes of the Past	191
Chapter 10 Conventions on Tribal Sovereignty	206
Conclusion	217
Notes	221
Bibliography	247
Index	259

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