Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson today announced the publication of "A History of Indian Policy" by Dr. S. Lyman Tyler, head of the American West Center, University of Utah, by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The book is now available in paper cover from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 for $4.25.
"The relationship between the American Indians and newcomers to this continent is the oldest social issue the Nation has struggled to resolve," Thompson pointed out. "Various attempts to do so have made their mark on Indian fortunes and thinking; The point-of-view of today's American Indians can only be clearly understood when one understands their fate over a period of more than 300 years."
"We are accustomed to reading about the meeting of the European settlers and the Indians during this Nation's colonial period, then a bit about the Indian removal from the South, and next of the Indian Wars. But much went on in between these high points that has not been thoroughly researched and made available in written form to the public," Commissioner Thompson continued.
"Private publishing houses have yet to fill in these gaps – particularly those that concern the period since passage of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The Bureau of Indian Affairs therefore contracted with Dr. Tyler so that he would write a comprehensive history book that would touch but lightly upon those aspects of Indian background that have been thoroughly researched by other authors and concentrating on those aspects of Indian history that have been slighted. The book reports on the modern period up to June 30, 1972. We intend to use this book in Bureau of Indian Affairs schools and the Superintendent of Documents is making it available elsewhere."
Dr. Tyler received his B.S. in history and political science from the University of Utah, and his Ph.D. in history and public administration from the same university. He was a professor of history at Brigham Young University from 1952 to 1966 and chairman of the Indian Education Committee, Brigham Young University from 1954 to 1960. He was a consultant to the Commission on the Rights, Privileges and Responsibilities of the American Indian, supported by the Ford Foundation, Fund for the Republic, from 1958 to 1959,
From 1959 to 1964, he was Director of the Institute of American Indian Studies of Brigham Young University. He has been a Professor of History, University of Utah, Director, Bureau of Indian Services of that same university. He has been Director, American West Center of the University of Utah since 1971.
He has been a research consultant for the United States Government upon several occasions and served as an expert witness before the U.S. Indian Claims Commission in the field of ethno history and legal history.
He is the author of a number of other books, including "Indian Affairs: A Study of Termination" and "Indian Affairs: A Study of Changes in Policy of the United States Toward Indians," both published by Brigham Young University Press.
