This book examines how the United States government, through the lens of
presidential leadership, has tried to come to grips with the many and
complex issues pertaining to relations with Indigenous peoples, who
occupied the land long before the Europeans arrived. The historical
relationship between the US government and Native American communities
reflects many of the core contradictions and difficulties the new nation
faced as it tried to establish itself as a legitimate government and
fend off rival European powers, including separation of powers, the role
of Westward expansion and Manifest Destiny, and the relationship between
diplomacy and war in the making of the United States. The authors'
analysis touches on all US presidents from George Washington to Donald
Trump, with sections devoted to each president. Ultimately, they
consider what historical and contemporary relations between the
government and native peoples reveal about who we are and how we operate
as a nation.