[In Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties Deloria argues that] Indian tribes are, or should be under treaty law, semi-autonomous and self-determining communities….

The usual claim of "pragmatists" in Indian policy today is that it is too late to redress the grievances of the past. Indians are too few, too politically and economically impotent, too little endowed with the capacity for self-improvement. Deloria chooses to counter these arguments with a comparative study of the political, economic, and educational profiles of various independent and semi-independent states recognized internationally. (p. 1306)

The argument, of course, is that "contract sovereignty" is akin to "protectorate" status, which has "a long history of acceptance in international diplomatic practice, even though at times the states in question have had difficulty maintaining their independence."… Such recognition would "clarify the status of Indian tribes and eliminate the inconsistencies that are presently found in the federal relationship with...