American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Indian claims to land have continued to occupy the courts and the US Congress. While the era of the larger territorial claims adjudicated by the Indian Claims Commission has passed, many surviving cases remain unresolved and others focus on new or continuing issues. This mini-symposium reports on the viability of settlement acts; the gnawing questions of surviving aboriginal title; the conflict over submerged lands; the status of adjudicated cases for which tribes have refused monies; the convoluted issues of acknowledgment, landlessness, and land restoration; the quest for access, use, and protection of cultural resources; tribal efforts and judicial frustrations over land consolidation; and the special case of Hawaiian lands. Case studies include the Zuni, Catawba, and Coeur d'Alene . Lest one believe too strongly that the nation is returning a quantum of acreage to Indian communities, readers should keep in mind that Indian land claims still remain in motion and that now and then limited land restoration does occur. For those who might worry that we are returning the continent to the tribes, fear not; the modicum of acreage restored is miniscule against the square miles of extinguished territory.