Deprived of their native lands in central Utah by immigrant Mormons, the mixed-blood Utes -- almost exclusively members of the Uintah band -- were confined to a reservation in eastern Utah, with a promise from U.S. government that the land would be theirs alone forever. This promise was not kept. The final blow was the Termination Act, enacted in the early 1950s. Designed to end government supervision of American Indians and the obligation of federal entitlements, its consequences for the mixed-blood Utes -- as well as for many other Indian groups -- were devastating, for it deprived them of their assets, land, and very way of life.
Drawing in particular on the testimony of individual Utes affected by the termination policy, Nielson discloses the broken promises and backhanded schemes perpetuated by government officials and the Utes' own lawyers, whose motives were compromised by self-interest. The author thus explores an all-too-neglected subject: the role of tribal attorneys in influencing tribal histories.