The Return of the Native : American Indian Political Resurgence

an Incisive Look At American Indian And Euro-american Relations From The Seventeenth Century To The Present, This Book Focuses On How Such Relations—and Indian Responses To Them—have Shaped Contemporary Indian Political Fortunes. Cornell Shows How, In The Early Days Of Colonization, Indians Were Able To Maintain Their Nationhood By Playing Off The Competing European Powers; And How The American Revolution And Westward Expansion Eventually Caused Native Americans To Lose Their Land, Social Cohesion, And Economic Independence. The Final Part Of The Book Recounts The Slow, Steady Reemergence Of American Indian Political Power And Identity, Evidenced By Militant Political Activism In The 1960s And Early 1970s. By Paying Particular Attention To The Evolution Of Indian Groups As Collective Actors And To Changes Over Time In Indian Political Opportunities And Their Capacities To Act On Those Opportunities, Cornell Traces The Indian Path From Power To Powerlessness And Back To Power Again. An incisive look at American Indian and Euro-American relations from the 16th century to the present, this book focuses on how such relations have shaped the Native American political identity and tactics in the ongoing struggle for power. Cornell shows how, in the early days of colonization, Indians were able to maintain their nationhood by playing off the competing European powers; and how the American Revolution and westward expansion eventually caused Native Americans to lose their land, social cohesion, and economic independence. The final part of the book recounts the slow, steady reemergence of American Indian political power and identity, evidenced by militant political activism in the 1960s and early 1970s. By paying particular attention to the evolution of Indian groups as collective actors and to changes over time in Indian political opportunities and their capacities to act on those opportunities, Cornell traces the Indian path from power to powerlessness and back to power again. Examines The Way American Indians Dealt With European Powers, Describes The Impact Of The Westward Expansion, And Looks At The Reemergence Of Indian Political Power. The New Indian Politics -- Exceptional Beginnings: The Fur Trade And Indian Labor -- Solving The Indian Problem -- They Carry Their Lives On Their Finger Nails -- The Transformations Of The Tribe -- New Music, New Partners, A New Dance -- Toward A Supratribal Consciousness -- The Politics Of Indianness -- Who Wants What? -- Old Wars, New Weapons -- Lieutenant Anthony's Legacy -- Indian-white Relations Revised -- Another World Is Coming. Stephen Cornell. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 267-270. On December 28, 1890, a few miles west of the Badlands in South Dakota, a band of exhausted Sioux Indians, including a hundred or so warriors and some 250 women and children, surrendered to troops of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry and agreed to travel with them to the Indian agency at Pine Ridge. A study of American Indian and Euro-American relations from the 16th century to the present, examining the shaping of the Indians' political identity and their ongoing struggle for power.