tribal American Indians even think some of the writings are insulting to them. Accompanying this fiction has been a rapid increase in biographies and autobiographies of native people, which is an important development.

Despite all the activity, American Indian studies as a separate intellectual entity in higher education is underdeveloped. This does not mean that acceptable courses are not offered (though little innovation may be shown in the courses), that important community service and applied activities are not performed, that students are not adequately advised, or even that important research and writings have not been accomplished. All have, to one degree or another.¹¹ However, the full potential of American Indian studies is unrealized in most American Indian studies programs, in whatever fashion they are organized.

The repatriation of American Indian human remains as well as the repatriation of funerary objects and other cultural objects, identified as “objects of patrimony”—i.e., something owned by the entire people— such as wampum belts, or sacred objects such as medicine bundles, is occurring today because of determined efforts by American Indians to achieve legal changes in American society.

It has been estimated that objects obtained from graves and other sacred sites, and skeletal remains of “hundreds of thousands” of American Indians are held in various universities, museums, historical societies, and even private collections in the United States and in other countries (Price, 1991). Whatever the actual figure, the estimates indicate a sizeable problem. It is also estimated that the skeletons, or more typically pieces of them, of several hundred American Indians and countless objects buried with them are uncovered every year in highway, housing, and other types of construction (Price, 1991).

American Indian remains and artifacts have been objects of study and intrigue to non-American Indians for centuries. Reported excavations of American Indian burial sites and mounds date from the eighteenth century. American Indian crania have been objects of particular scientific

Front Matter (R1-R30)

1. Introduction (1-20)

2. An Overview of Trends in Social and Economic Well-Being, by Race (21-39)

3. An Overview of Racial and Ethnic Demographic Trends (40-102)

4. Hispanics in a Multicultural Society: A New American Dilemma? (103-134)

5. Trends Among American Indians in the United States (135-169)

6. Political Trends and Electoral Issues of the Asian Pacific American Population (170-199)

7. Contemporary Immigration and Dynamics of Race and Ethnicity (200-242)

8. The Changing Meaning of Race (243-263)

9. Racial Attitudes and Relations at the Close of the Twentieth Century (264-301)

10. Racial Trends and Scapegoating: Bringing in a Comparative Focus (302-317)

11. Affirmative Action: Legislative History, Jhudicial Interpretations, Public Consensus (318-347)

12. Test Score Trends Along Racial Lines, 1971 to 1996: Popular Culture and Community Academic Standards (348-390)

13. Residential Segregation and Neighborhood Conditions in U.S. Metropolitan Areas (391-434)

14. Geography and Apportunity (435-468)

Appendix A: Acronyms (469-471)

Appendix B: Agenda: Research Conference on Racial Trends in the United States (472-476)

Appendix C: Biographical Sketches (477-484)

Index (485-530)