"'The Navajo Nation: An American Colony' describes how this country's largest Indian reservation is handicapped in its quest for economic development by a host of problems arising primarily out of its legal status, deficiencies in the Federal administrative structure, and inadequate funding of the Federal health delivery system. The report is based on the Commission's hearing in Window Rock, Arizona, capital of the Navajo Reservation, in October 1973, and on months of research preceding and following that hearing. Some of the problems discussed will require legislative remedies, while others may be solved much more readily by administrative action. It is our hope that this report, with its findings and recommendations, will stir a prompt response. We believe this neglected segment of the American populace already has suffered too long from the burdens attendant to its deplorable status as 'the poorest of America's poor.'"--Page iii.

Issues facing the Navajo reservation from 1920-1980.

The Navajo Nation is the largest of over 560 federally recognized indigenous entities in the United States today. Navajo history and politics thus serve as a model for understanding American Indian issues across the board ranging from the tribal-federal relationship to contemporary land disputes, taxation policies, and Indian gaming challenges. This revised edition of a recent text includes new census data along with a new introduction and an updated timeline of Dine political history. The text's thoroughgoing analysis of Navajo political institutions and processes is amplified by a consideration of the distinctive Navajo culture. Presented in the context of indigenous societies everywhere, the book offers a way to explore the culture of politics and the politics of culture confronted by all native peoples.