Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-217) and index.

Introduction -- Aboriginal tenure and use -- Postcontact history -- The present status of reservation tenure -- Indian lands outside reservations -- Modern developments -- Reservation government -- Summary and conclusions -- Appendix A: Chronology of Southern California history -- Appendix B: executive order reservations, 1875 -- Appendix C: An act for the relief of the Mission Indians in the State of California -- Appendix D: A typical trust patent -- Appendix E: Public law 280 -- Appendix F: How to research reservation history -- Appendix G: Trust lands in Southern California. This volume presents an introduction to the history of land grants in California that began to occur in the late 1870's and continue up until modern times. The author, a professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, offers the results of thirty years of research and testimony as an expert witness for the Indians struggling to regain and maintain control of their land. In tracing the historical ownership and use patterns by Native Americans, the author illustrates how a case is made. Her largest concerns are to establish what the "tribal custom" is and to offer a practical guide to tribes and consultants involved in land-use planning or litigation.