1 - Introduction

Summary

Connecting what happens on Indian reservations with challenges facing the United States, Chapter 1 highlights the significance of what happens in Indian country to those living in neighboring and even distant communities. Chapter 1 also presents in brief the major themes of the book—the heavy federal role in reservation development and resource exploitation, the importance of improving tribal self-governance, and the ways in which land use decisions shape reservation life—and emphasizes the centrality of both history and institutional development in understanding Indian nations today.