Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties: An Indian Declaration of Independence

by Vine Deloria Jr.

Book Overview

Originally published in 1974, just as the Wounded Knee occupation was coming to an end, Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties raises disturbing questions about the status of American Indians within the American and international political landscapes. Analyzing the history of Indian treaty relations with the United States, Vine Deloria presents population and land ownership information to support his argument that many Indian tribes have more...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0292707541
• ISBN13: 9780292707542
• Release Date: March 1985
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A book worth reading

Vine Deloria Jr. was born in 1933 in Martin, South Dakota. He obtained a Master of Theology degree from the Lutheran School of Theology in Rock Island, Illinois in 1963 and a J.D. from the University of Colorado in 1970. His works, including "Custer Died for Your Sins", "We Talk, You Listen," and "God is Red" promote Native American cultural nationalism and a greater understanding of Native American history and philosophy. Vine Deloria's purpose in writing "Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties" is to demonstrate that the Native Americans have valid reasons for wanting to reopen the treaty-making procedure with the United States. He also states that by the United States accepting the proposal of the aboriginal Native Americans to honor all treaties as if the Native Americans were a foreign entity, the United States would be placing itself in the forefront of civilized nations in dealing with aboriginal peoples of a continent. The author's purpose is achieved through a close scrutiny of the Twenty Points assembled by Indian activists in St. Paul, Minnesota in December 1972. These points were believed to most fairly and adequately summarize the grievances of the various Native American tribes and suggested a reform program for the United States government to follow (48). The author not only examines the Twenty Points in great detail, but he also includes a summary of Native American history regarding their interaction with the Europeans. This summary begins with the colonists on the frontier. In chapter five, Deloria explains the colonists' idealogy of the doctrine of discovery. Since the colonists were the first to discover the lands east of the Mississippi River, they had full right to claim the land, even if the aboriginal people of the continent occupied the land. With this doctrine, the colonists laid claim to any and all land in their path of expansion. Deloria states that this doctrine was the catalyst for many of the wars fought by the great Indian chiefs in the 18th and 19th centuries. These battles led up to the terrible massacre of helpless Oglala Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee Creek, which finally ended Native American bloodshed through acts of war. The author creates an encyclopedia of examples of broken treaties between the United States and various Native American tribes, culminating in his day-by-day account of the Trail of Broken Treaties march on Washington D.C. in January of 1973. Just by picking up this black hardcover book with the title emblazoned down the spine in capital letters of bold red, the reader begins to feel the ominous message from within the book before the first page is read. Otherwise, the condition of the book is fair. The reader will immediately notice the lack of pictures to supplement the reading, as well as the lack of footnotes or bibliography to validate the author's research. This fact leaves Deloria open for criticism. First, Deloria states in the first few pages of the book that no American president