Promotional Information

Dismemberment is a truly enlightening study of the history of federal Indian law and policy because of its careful empirical research, compelling analysis, and genuine concern for the people and tribal governments involved. -- Thomas Biolsi, author of Deadliest Enemies: Law and Race Relations on and off Rosebud Reservation Dismembered provides a transformative look at the colonially-inspired and federally designed mode of modern tribal self-termination: disenrollment. It is a must-read for anybody concerned about the future of indigenous peoples in America. -- Gabriel Galanda, attorney and co-author of Curing the Tribal Disenrollment Epidemic: In Search of a Remedy David and Shelly Wilkins have done excellent research on the twisted path of disenrollment and banishment. What the federal government tried to do through many failed Indian policies and boarding schools, tribes are now accomplishing through disenrollment. If the current trend continues, tribes will make themselves extinct. -- Senator John R. McCoy, Washington State 38th Legislative District

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Banishment

2. Federal Power and Citizenship in Indian Country

3. A New Deal for Native Citizenship

4. Native Self-Determination

5. The Dismembering Explodes

6. Judicial Interpretations of Dismemberment

Conclusion

About the Author

David E. Wilkins is the McKnight Presidential Professor in American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. He is the coauthor of American Indian Politics and the American Political System. Shelly Hulse Wilkins is a partner with the Wilkins Forum and specializes in tribal governmental relations.

Reviews

"A first-of-its-kind book that looks at tribal disenrollment."
*Seattle Magazine*

"A powerful and painful analysis of the abuses of tribal governments against their own people and the rights of individuals against their leaders. . . . Readers who do delve into its troubling contents will have a deeper understanding of the challenges facing tribal peoples in the twenty-first century."
*Southwestern Historical Quarterly*