Buy the Chief a Cadillac

How much does it cost to buy someone’s heritage? For many of the Klamath Native Americans it was $43,000, the exact amount that the government paid every tribal man, woman and child that withdrew from their reservation under the Indian Termination Act of 1961.

Rick Steber tells their story of “termination day” including rowdy drinking parties, brawls and senseless killings. The characters are fiction, but the story of the termination is real.

I really enjoyed this book. Although the situation was sad, Steber weaved it into an engaging and well-written story, combining history, mystery, and a touch of well-placed humor.

His story poses the questions, was termination day the biggest land grab of the 20th century? Was the federal government and its policy of forcing assimilation of the Native Americans into white culture responsible; or was it a matter of one greedy generation selling out its heritage? Steber invites readers to form their own opinions about what happened, why, and who is to blame for the termination of Klamath tribal land.