SOURCE: "Toward Indian Nationhood," in Natural History, Vol. 94, January, 1985, pp. 76, 78-9.

In the following essay, Washburn asserts that in The Nations Within, "When all is said and done, Deloria and Lytle, while not providing a practical solution to the Indian future, have laid the basis for a more mature consideration of that future by Indian tribal leaders."

Vine Deloria, Jr.! The name—to some contemporary white Americans—conjures up emotions similar to those raised in the nineteenth century by the names Geronimo and Red Cloud. For many years Deloria, with his pen (and now with his word processor), has struck terror in the hearts of snooping anthropologists, guilt-laden editorial writers, obtuse historians, and others who grapple with the contemporary or historical Indian, whether as an economic "problem," a literary symbol, or a political force.

The secret of Deloria's success in becoming the preeminent Indian spokesman is his inexhaustible...