"Between 1859 and the 1960's missionaries and the U.S. government operated more than five hundred assimilation centers. Their ostensible goal was to solve the "Indian problem" by transforming Indigenous children into English-speaking Christians who could hold down a job or run a farm or manage a household. But as the government finally admitted, the real objective was to steal tribal land. Most of these boys and girls were taken forcibly from their families and sent far away in order to alienate them from their tribes and erase their languages, spirituality, and cultures. Despite the plot against Native America, Indigenous cultures have endured. With inspiring efforts, tribal councils are now building their own bison herds, teaching their children indigenous languages, as well as striving to build self-sufficient economies in this new era that is upon us."--Dust jacket.