Donald L. Fixico

The Invasion of Indian Country in the Twentieth Century: American Capitalism and Tribal Natural Resources

The struggle between Indians and whites for land did not end on the battlefields in the 1800s. When this hostile era closed with Native Americans forced onto reservations, no one expected that rich natural resources lay beneath these lands that white America would desperately desire. Yet oil, timber, fish, coal, water, and other resources were discovered to be in great demand in the mainstream market, and a new war began with Indian tribes and their leaders trying to protect their tribal natural resources throughout the twentieth century. Fixico contends that federal policies originally devised to protect Indian interests ironically worked against the Indian nations as the tribes employed new tactics with the Council of Energy Resources Tribes, using the law in courts and applying aggressive business leadership to combat the capitalist invasion by mainstream America.

Rethinking American Indian history

Writing from the Indian point of view is a central concern to historians today. Not only are new sources needed to understand native peoples, but new questions must be asked questions based in a deep knowledge of the languages and cultures of Native Americans. The seven essays in this volume present innovative approaches to revising Indian history and understanding native peoples on their own terms.

Rethinking American Indian History@@@American Indian Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Contemporary Issues

This collection of essays brings to college students and the general public a scholarly, yet accessible and provocative text in Native American Studies. The contributors draw upon their expertise in such diverse disciplines as economics, education, film studies, history, linguistics, literature, museum studies, popular culture, and religion. Each essay highlights a particular aspect of Native American experience, from the oppressive indoctrination of boarding schools to the successful strategic planning of Indian casinos to the exciting creativity of Native American literature. In addition, many of the essays introduce the reader to the disciplines through which we can approach this important and fascinating topic, engagingly taking the reader through the process of how historians or economists or literary scholars go about their work.

McIntosh and Weatherford, Creek Indian Leaders

Born of Creek mothers and Scottish fathers, William McIntosh (White Warrior) and William Weatherford (Red Eagle) fought on opposing sides during the Creek War of 1813-14. This work provides the story behind the legends and folk tales surrounding these two Creek Indian leaders.

Termination and Relocation: Federal Indian Policy, 1945-1960

Between the end of the Roosevelt era and the beginning of the Kennedy administration, less traditional Native Americans, congressional leaders, and government administrators developed a policy that they hoped would integrate the Indian population with mainstream America. To this end, they enacted laws to terminate the governments trusteeship of Indian lands and relocate Indians to the nations cities. They believed that once Indians left the reservation, they would have opportunities for education and employment that would enable them to participate more fully in the larger society. These policies were most fully applied to the Menominee and Klamath tribes. But the sponsors of this legislation underestimated the importance of the fundamental differences between Indian and Anglo culture that would make it nearly impossible for most Indians to make the transition. By the early 1960s it had become tragically apparent that the policies of termination and relocation were creating a new subclass of urban poor: Indians who were ill equipped to survive in the competitive, materialistic world off the reservation. In this major study Fixico looks at the history and effects of these policies from the Indian perspective. He also situates termination within the larger issue of civil rights during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations.