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Native nations, like the Navajo nation, have proven to be remarkably adept at retaining and exercising ever-increasing amounts of self-determination even when faced with powerful external constraints and limited resources. Now in this fourth edition of David E. Wilkins' The Navajo Political Experience, political developments of the last decade are discussed and analyzed comprehensively, and with as much accessibility as thoroughness and detail.
List of contents
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Key Terms Selected Readings Notes PART IFoundations of Diné Government and Relations with the United StatesChapter 1 Dine National Government: An Historical OverviewIntroduction
Diné Traditional Government
The Naataanii (Headmen and Headwomen of Traditional
Society)
The Naachid
Diné Government: 1700-1846
Diné Governmental Change During the Early American
Period: 1846-1921
Treaty of 1849 (also known as Washington's Treaty)
Treaty of 1868
Importance of the Treaties
The Birth of Local Government: 1922-1936
Chapters
The First Navajo Tribal Council
Navajo Tribal Reorganization: 1936-1938
Diné Tribal Government: 1940-1989
Democratization of the Navajo Nation: Title II Amendments,
1989 to 2002
Fundamental Law to the Present
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 2 A Nation Within a NationIntroduction
No Universal Legal Definition
A Navajo Understanding of What Constitutes a Nation
The Cultural Side of Navajo National Identity
Theories of Race
The Role of Religion
Language and Identity
Traditions and Historical Experiences
Indigenous Values
The Political Side of Navajo Identity
A Distinctive People
A Defined Land Base
Governing Structures
Sovereignty
Tribal Sovereignty
The Distinctive Tribal-Federal Relationship
The Treaty Relationship
The Trust Relationship
Congressional Plenary Power in Indian Affairs
The U.S. Congress and Indian Affairs
Congressional Committees
The U.S. President and Indian Affairs
The Secretary of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs 28
The U.S. Supreme Court and Indian Affairs 30
Tribal-State Relations 32
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 3Governmental Structure: Its Form and Function Introduction
What Is Government?
What Are Politics and Political Science?
Why the Need for Government?
Who Has the Power in Government?
Ideology Within American Politics
Liberals
Conservatives
Three Principal Functions of Government
Legislative
Executive
Judicial
Types of Governing Structures
What Is Democracy?
Division of Governing Functions
Subunits of Government
Structure of the Legislature
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 4Federal Indian Policy: An Historical OverviewIntroduction
Indigenous Independence: 1492-Colonial Era
Early United States Independence: 1776-1828
Removal-Relocation-Reservation: 1828-1887
Allotment and Assimilation: 1887-1921
Reorganization and Limited Tribal Self-Rule: 1921-1945
Termination: 1945-1961
Tribal Self-Determination and Self-Governance:
1961-Present
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes PART IIInstitutions of Diné GovernmentChapter 5The Framework of Navajo Government TodayIntroduction
Navajo Nation Code: Principles
Navajo Nation Code: Authority
Why Is There a Code and Not a Constitution?
Limits to Navajo Government Power
Attempts at Government Reform
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 6The Navajo Nation Legislature (The Council)Introduction
What Is a Legislature?
The Council and Its Delegates
Committees
How a Resolution Becomes Law
Factors Influencing Navajo Lawmakers
Reapportionment-"One Navajo-One Vote"
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 7The Navajo Nation Executive(The President and Vice-President)Introduction
What is Executive Power?
Powers of the Navajo Nation President
Presidential Office and Activities
Vacancies
Gifts of Property
The Executive Bureaucracy
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 8The Navajo Nation Judiciary (The Courts)Introduction
Historical Background of the Navajo Nation Courts
Navajo Nation Court Structure
Navajo Supreme Court
Navajo District Courts
Navajo Family Courts
Navajo Peacemaker Courts
Other Related Institutions
Qualifications for Judicial Appointment
Tenure of Judges: Cause for Removal
Salaries
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 9Local Governing Jurisdictions Introduction
Chapters
Township(s)
District Grazing Committees
Off-Reservation Land Boards
Major Irrigation Projects Farm Boards
Agency Councils
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes PART IIIPolitical Dynamics of Diné GovernmentChapter 10Interest Groups and Diné Politics: From Without and WithinIntroduction
The Navajo Nation 'As Subject" to Outside Interest
Groups
The Navajo Nation 'As Subject" to Inside Interest
Groups
The Navajo Nation "Acting As" an Interest Group
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 11The Navajo Nation and the MediaIntroduction
The Role of the Media
Navajo Nation Media Enterprises
The Navajo TimesMacDonald Shuts Down the Paper
KTNN: The Radio Voice of the Navajo Nation
Conclusion
Key TermsSelected Readings Notes Chapter 12Diné Voting, Elections, and Campaign FinancesIntroduction
Navajo Voting
Navajo Election Laws
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings Notes Chapter 13Diné Political EconomyIntroduction
Early Dine Economic Activity
Navajo Treaties & Pawn
Livestock Reduction
The Beginnings of Navajo Nationalism
Contemporary Status of Dine Economic Development
Conclusion
Key Terms Selected Readings NotesAPPENDICES
About the author
David E. Wilkins is E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in leadership studies at University of Richmond. A citizen of the Lumbee Nation of North Carolina, Wilkins earned his PhD in political science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His academic work concentrates on Native politics and governance, with particular attention to the transformations that Indigenous governments have both coercively and voluntarily engaged in from pre-colonial times to the present. Wilkins in the author or editor of numerous books, including mostly recently Documents of Native American Political Development: 1933 to Present; Red Prophet: The Punishing Intellectualism of Vine Deloria, Jr.; American Indian Politics and the American Political System, fourth edition; Dismembered: Native Disenrollment and the Battle for Human Rights; The Navajo Political Experience, fourth edition; and Hollow Justice: A History of Indigenous Claims in the United States.
