Francis Paul Prucha, S.J., is an emeritus professor of history at Marquette University.

"Francis Paul Prucha has made a real contribution to American Indian historiography by providing this selection of 'essential documents which marked significant formulations of policy in the conduct of Indian affairs by the United States government.' The 161 selections from George Washington's letter to James Duane in 1783 through the Menominee Restoration Act of 1973 include treaties, legislative enactments, judicial decisions, executive statements, and extracts from official commissions and committees which 'illustrate the history of the relations between the United Sates government and the American Indian from the founding of the nation to the present time.' Each entry is prefaced with an introductory paragraph explaining the document and is included in a very detailed index. A valuable selective bibliography concludes the volume." --- American Indian Quarterly review of the the first edition (1975)

This expanded edition adds 38 new documents, dated 1972 to 1988 and covering a period of great activity and rapid movement toward Indian self-determination. Among the topics dealt with are fishing rights, economic development, the American Indian Policy Review Commission, education, health and welfare, self-determination, legal jurisdiction, water rights, and archaeological resources, as well a major claims cases like those of the Sioux and the Maine Indian groups.