The Abuse of Indians by Whites

This is the book's central theme, with each of the essays it contains developing it from a particular perspective. The first half of the book (which includes the essays "Laws and Treaties", "...Termination", "Anthropologists ...", "Missionaries ..." and "Government Agencies") explores and documents various manifestations of that abuse and the reasons it came into being. The second half (which includes the essays "Indian Humor," "Red and the Black," "...Indian Leadership," "...Modern Society" and "Redefinition ...") explores and theorizes what Indians have done and can continue to do in response to that abuse.

At the core of the author's comments on both the manifestation of and response to abuse is his assertion that white men act and react out of fear of the unknown. Manifestations of abuse, he contends, come into being because the white man doesn't understand Indians and doesn't want to understand because his (the...