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311 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. vii (1957)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0311 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD White Americans seem continually to be rediscovering the Indians. In the last few years, a growing Indian population on a limited land base, a vigorous national controversy over desegregation, a turn in the Indian policy of the federal govern- ment, and world-wide attention to questions of colonialism and minorities have been among the forces renewing America's interest in her Indian citizens. The student of Indian affairs recognizes that to some degree the status of In- dians in American society is similar to the status of other minorities. To a sig- nificant degree, however, Indian experience has been different, for unlike any other minority group in the nation, they were here, living in unified societies, when the European settlers came. Their response to invasion may have as much in com- mon with the minorities in Eastern Europe as with the willing and unwilling mi- grants to America, torn as they were from their cultural roots. There is scarcely a major issue of policy in the United States that has not been involved in the relationships of Indians and whites. Qqestions of universal citi- zenship and franchise; of land use and conservation; of the melting pot versus pluralism; of prejudice, discrimination, and segregation; of colonialism; of the separation of church and state; of private property and communal property; and of the extent and nature of government responsibility for education-to mention several basic issues-have all involved policy questions concerning Indians. We need scarcely stress the importance and value of a study of the place of American Indians in American life. To the social scientist, it offers a valuable field for the testing of theories of social and cultural change, of acculturation, of personality development, and the like. To the policy maker, the Indian ques- tion is a key test of democracy with which our society has struggled for genera- tions. To the student of international affairs, it offers experience-much of it negative, of course-and an important testing ground for the study of the results of culture contact between highly industrialized and underdeveloped societies. And in its own right, as a problem with difficult questions of justice and equality involving a large group of human beings, the analysis of the status of American Indians challenges us all. Clearly the authors of this volume do not agree on all aspects of the question of the place of American Indians in American life. There are some disagreements in interpretation of facts, in method, and even in objective. While we have not sought to have all possible points of view represented-for our aim has been a scholarly review of several aspects of Indian life today, not a policy debate-we nevertheless welcome the several points of view that naturally appeared as the various authors explored their subjects. Each author writes from a wealth of ex- perience. The interaction of their views can bring us to a more adequate under- standing of American Indians and toward a resolution of the difficult questions still before us in establishing full equality and freedom for Indians. GEORGE E. SIMPSON J. MILTON YINGER vii

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