Part 3 Summary and Analysis

"The Disastrous Policy of Termination"

In this chapter, the author describes the development of the policy of termination (see "Objects/Places"). He traces the policy's beginnings to the well intentioned proposals of William Zimmerman (see "Important People"), who created a reasoned but longer-term policy of evaluation and eventual termination, a policy which (according to the author) was abandoned because it didn't save the government enough money. He then discusses the attitudes and actions of Arthur Watkins (see "Important People"), who (according to the author) embarked on a ruthless program of destruction aimed at Indians first in his home state of Utah, and later across the country. The author recounts in detail the experience of the Wisconsin Menominee Tribe (see "Important People") at the hands of Watkins, describing how the well being of the tribe eventually came to an end as the...