American Indians/American Presidents:A History

Description

When the American colonies defeated Britain during the War for Independence| Native American leaders began to establish diplomatic relations with the new nation.
Here| for the first time| is the little-known history of American Indians and American presidents| what they said and felt about one another| and what their words tell us about the history of the United States.
Focused on major turning points in Native American history| these pages show how American Indians interpreted the power and prestige of the presidency| and advanced their own agenda for tribal sovereignty| from the age of George Washington to the present day.

In addition to exploring a pantheon of Indian leaders| from Little Turtle to Robert Yellowtail| this book also provides new–and often unexpected–perspectives on the presidents.
Thomas Jefferson| traditionally portrayed as the Indians’ friend| emerges as a master of the art of Indian dispossession.
Richard Nixon| long-tarnished by the Watergate scandal| was in reality a champion of tribal self-determination–a position that sprang| in part| from his Quaker origins.
Using inaugural addresses| proclamations| Indian Agency records| private correspondence| memoirs| petitions| photographs| and objects from the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian| American Indians/American Presidents illuminates the relationship between these diverse leaders| the Native Americans’ commitment to tribal self-determination| and the social| geographic| and political evolution of the United States over more than two centuries.