Among his people Vine Deloria Jr. has achieved a status somewhat similar to that of Sitting Bull's leadership of the Sioux tribes a century ago. Deloria is not a warrior ("The time for playing cowboys and Indians is over," he said recently) but is more the strategist—the thinker and the planner…. What Deloria wants is affirmative action by the U.S. Congress to define Indian tribes as smaller nations to be left alone to run their own affairs….

"Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties" is not only the best account yet written of events leading to Wounded Knee 1973, it is also a compelling argument for a reopening of the treaty-making procedure between Indian tribes and the U.S. Government; an action which the author is convinced would place this country in the forefront of civilized nations for its treatment of native peoples.

In presenting a historical background...