American Indians and World War II: Toward a New Era in Indian Affairs

Bernstein, an associate dean at Princeton University, contends WW II wielded the greatest impact of any event or period of this century on government policy regarding Native Americans. Once called the country's most isolated minority, Native Americans entered the mainstream during the war period, 1940-1945, with some 25,000 joining the military and another 40,000 entering the wartime work force. In this scholarly and extensively researched study, Bernstein observes that Native Americans' involvement overseas and on the homefront decreased their dependency on the Bureau of Indian Affairs and inspired a new political awareness directed toward self-determination. While Native American engagement in WW II may have suggested increased assimilation, the author writes that Native American roots in tribalism remain strong. (June)