The White Earth tragedy

"Under the guise of assimilation, U.S. government policies destroyed Anishinaabe adaptations and brought them increased poverty, disease, and diaspora," writes Melissa L. Meyer. Combining historical methods with approaches drawn from sociology, anthropology, and economics, and using a wide range of previously untapped sources, she examines in exacting detail the course of events leading to that conclusion.

Rather than focusing on Indian-white relations alone, she views the matter in terms of relationships between the conservative Anishinaabe hands and their mediator "cousins," analogous culturally to the Canadian metis, to produce a study that is as compelling for its design as for its content.