Book Report: Invasion of Indian Country

In the twentieth century, greedy American capitalists have, after exploiting natural resources found off the reservations, have, with a vengeance, invaded Indian Country to exploit the natural resources and the Indian people. This book written by Donald Fixico, who is (Shawnee/Sac and Fox/Mucogee/Seminole), is an important and much needed scholarly contribution to understanding Indian-white relations, the impacts of American capitalism on traditional Indian culture, and the strategies tribes are imploring to protect their natural resources and traditions.

The book is divided into two main sections. Part One is divided into six chapters that presents six elements, which Fixico has identified as necessary for traditional Indian society, that have and are being impeded by federal policies. These six elements are as follows: Person, Family, Clan or society, Community, Nation, and Spirituality. Each chapter is presented in a manner that allows the reader to develop a well-rounded perspective of the ideas, issues, concepts, and policies discussed, even a reader with no prior knowledge of the subject will be benefited and able to understand this book.

The chapters in Part One of the book, connect the reader to a particular tribe, a natural resource, one of the elements necessary for traditional Indian society, and how the federal policy and capitalistic greed has impeded traditional Indian society. Chapter one discusses Jackson Barnett, a Muscogee Creek, who was one person that was exploited due to the federal policy of Allotment and Assimilation by greedy whites and mixed bloods that pressured and cheated the traditional Indians out of their gas and oil royalties. Chapter two discusses the Kyle family who were Osage and were systematically murdered in the 1920's for their headrights. A headright is an equal share of the mineral income, which is determined by having one's name listed on the Dawe's Roll. In this chapter, the reader sees what can happen when capitalistic greed turns murderous as traditional values of family cohesion are replaced with white values of individualism.

Chapter three discusses Pueblo water rights. This chapter provides excellent historical background on the subject, as it shows how the internal cohesion of the community worked together successfully to protect the Pueblos sovereignty, which is tied to the land, water, and community. Chapter four explores the Klamath and how a timber rich tribal nation, can be severely impacted when the federal trust relationship is terminated. Chapter five discusses the Chippewa, and their hunting and fishing rights on and off the reservation. These rights were reserved to the Chippewa in treaties. The chapter focuses on the element of clans and how the Chippewa are connected through their clans to the natural world and how retaining balance is important. The non-Indians were incensed about the treaty protected fishing rights and racial tension became critical. The Chippewa fought for their treaty promised hunting and fishing rights to be upheld, and finally in 1991, they agreed to a court settlement to retain balance and harmony with their white neighbors. Chapter six discusses Lakota spirituality, it connects with the Black Hills, and how the discovery of gold, coal, and uranium has led to a fight the Lakota are still fighting for the return of their land.

Part two of the book discusses the demands on the natural resources, legal strategies and cases, and strategies for dealing with protecting and preserving their natural resources from capitalistic greedy people and corporations who exploit Indian lands and people. This part of the book stresses the importance of Indian tribes working together to educate themselves as to the best ways to protect their natural resources. Chapter eight explains the history of the Council of Energy Resources Tribes (CERT). This chapter explains how and why CERT was organized, and criticism that says they are no better then the BIA, for they hold regal galas and so forth. However, the idea of CERT is to educate Indian people to be able to renegotiate better leases and to develop their natural resources in way that is more profitable for the tribe.

Chapter ten and eleven brings back into the discussion the environment, Native American philosophy and global concerns. Here, the message is that environmental laws need to be enacted that protect Mother Earth globally, and that capitalistic greed and exploitation of the land has its consequences on the people and natural world.

I highly recommend this book for scholars and all people who are concerned with Native American and environmental issues. I loved the first part of the book. However, I felt slighted by the second part of the book because it did not fully stress the importance of protecting and preserving one's traditional cultural ways, which is just as important, if not more so, then developing natural resources.

I would like to have seen the book end by stressing that tribes need to incorporate traditional teachings and the basic six elements necessary for Indian society into their natural resource development and tribal strategies, for if tribes lose their Indian identity, they become nothing more then red white people. If a tribe is going to develop its natural resources, it needs to do so by incorporating traditional teachings in order to strike a positive balance and retain harmony with the Natural World. When a tribe runs its government like a business, with profits put before the concerns of the people and Natural World, calamity is just around the corner.

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Created May 20, 2000; Updated August 2001