The Dispossessed: Cultural Genocide of the Mixed-Blood Utes, an Advocate's Chronicle.
Parker M. Nielson's The Termination of the Mixed-Blood Utes is a compelling and meticulously documented examination of one of the most significant and controversial episodes in modern Ute history. Drawing on his firsthand experience as legal counsel for the terminated mixed-blood Utes, Nielson chronicles the unique congressional action that removed the mixed-blood members from the Northern Ute Indian Tribe, making it the only partial tribal termination carried out in the United States.
The book clearly explains how termination, championed by Senator Arthur V. Watkins and implemented through Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, resulted not only in the loss of tribal membership and federal recognition but also in the erosion of cultural identity, financial interests, and long-standing community ties. Nielson's personal involvement gives the narrative an immediacy and depth that few other accounts can match.
One of the book's greatest strengths is its detailed documentation of the legal battles, political decisions, and administrative actions that shaped the termination process. Nielson presents extensive evidence to support his conclusions and offers an insider's perspective on the challenges faced by the terminated mixed-blood Utes. While he is highly critical of many individuals and institutions involved—including Congress, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Ute Tribal Business Committee, financial institutions, and various legal authorities—his arguments provide readers with valuable insight into the frustrations and perceived injustices experienced by his clients.
Because the book assumes some familiarity with federal Indian policy, readers new to the subject may benefit from background knowledge of the Spanish Fork Treaty, the Dawes Act, the Indian Reorganization Act, the federal termination policy of the 1950s, and the division of tribal assets between the terminated mixed-bloods and the remaining tribal members. Even so, the historical narrative remains both engaging and informative.
Although this work represents Nielson's perspective and advocacy on behalf of the terminated mixed-blood Utes, it remains an important contribution to the scholarship on twentieth-century Native American history. Its extensive documentation, legal analysis, and firsthand observations make it an invaluable resource for researchers interested in Ute history, federal Indian policy, and the lasting consequences of the termination era. As both a legal history and a human story, this book offers an illuminating account of a pivotal chapter in the history of the Ute people and deserves a place on the shelf of anyone seeking to better understand this complex period in American history.
By PARKER M. NIELSON (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998 x + 338 pp $34.95.)