The literature of tribal politics and federal Indian law has largely been the province of law reviews and legal scholars. The subject matter is complicated, confusing, and contradictory. There are more than 500 Indian tribes and native villages that have been acknowledged (recognized) by the federal government, and each of these governments is unique in its history, heritage, culture, language, and land. Unlike other governments within the United States, tribal governments have no constitutional basis; therefore, they have been treated over the years by the United States as foreign nations (treaties and wars), as wards of the government (reservations and trust status), and as sovereign dependent nations. Federal Indian law is rendered more obscure by the fact that it affects less than 2% of the American population, and that, largely rural, population has the highest rate of poverty and unemployment in the country. All of these factors have led the First Americans to be highly marginalized in American politics, both by politicians and political scientists. This recently changed when the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) (1988), allowed gaming on Indian reservations, if the states wherein they were located allowed such gambling even under restricted conditions. The success of Indian gaming establishments has produced a type of Indian Renaissance, but only for federally acknowledged tribes. Indian tribes and communities that are not federally acknowledged have been unable to share in these economic and cultural benefits. Federal acknowledgment is the critical factor in the success of an Indian tribe in maintaining its sovereignty, culture, economy, and land base. Without federal acknowledgment, a tribe is not a tribe and its members are not Indians, regardless of heritage.

In Cash, Color, and Colonialism, Renée Ann Cramer deftly disassembles and analyzes the politics of the process of tribal acknowledgment by the federal government. Rather than limiting her discussion to the legal issues surrounding acknowledgment, Cramer has employed the tools of political science to analyze the social and political variables that affect the success or failure of a petitioning tribe to gain acknowledgment.

The first third of the text is devoted to a clear and concise review of the literature and history of federal Indian law and tribal politics. This review is thorough but never pedantic. As a primer on federal/tribal/state relations, it is ideal for both graduate and undergraduate students.

The midsection of the text examines the acknowledgment process and how it has changed over time. The emphasis is on the current criteria, adopted in 1978 and amended in 1988 and 1994, used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to determine a tribe's status. While ostensibly objective, Cramer argues, these criteria discriminate on the basis of resources (cash), racial identity and stereotypes (color), and tribal/individual assimilation into the dominate culture (colonialism). Those tribes that do not have the resources to search out their historical, cultural, and genealogical roots, or those tribes whose members do not fit the stereotypic image, that is, red skin, aquiline nose, and high cheekbones, are severely handicapped in achieving acknowledgment. Indians whose ancestors intermarried with African Americans are especially hindered in their quest for recognition.

Although Cramer initially directed her attention to the historical aspects of cash, color, and colonialism, she quickly discovered that Indian gaming has become a critical factor in the acknowledgment process. She argues that gaming has achieved importance because it helps generate the cash needed to document historical tribal claims as well as to lobby the BIA and Congress. At the same time, it is a lightening rod that rallies forces, for and against gambling, into the acknowledgment process. Indians may see gaming as a path out of poverty and dependence, whereas their non-Indian neighbors often view it as a road to debauchery and organized crime. Using data from a variety of governmental, academic, and media sources, Cramer dispels myths surrounding the issue. As she points out, 8 of 198 tribal casinos represent 40% of all tribal gaming profits (p. 102); most tribes make only a modest profit from bingo halls, and that amount is generally funneled back into tribal social welfare services. Nevertheless, as is shown repeatedly throughout the book, image is often more important in politics than reality.

The last part of the text applies the theoretical constructs through two case studies involving tribes that were successful in gaining federal acknowledgment through the BIA process: the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut (recognized 1983) and the Poarch Band of Creeks in Alabama (recognized 1984). Both tribes were acknowledged prior to the passage of IGRA, and both tribes have benefited from gaming, especially the Mashantucket Pequot, who run the largest casino in North America. Cramer demonstrates that although gaming has been significant in the success of these tribes, it was not determinant. The Mashantucket Pequot were successful, while other Pequot tribes have not been, in large part because they could demonstrate continuous residence on the few acres of land remaining from the original colonial land grant to their ancestors. Other tribes assimilated or disappeared from government rolls in order to protect themselves from annihilation. The irony is that the behavior that was intended to save individual lives actually cost the life of the tribe in the eyes of the government.

I highly recommend this book as a text in a Native American studies course, as a supplementary text in a State and Local course, or as reading for anyone interested in understanding the present political and sociological context of Native American tribal governments within federal Indian law.