They Always Come Back

Abstract

The story of Native American urbanization and the urban relocation program typically concludes with a generation of Native people either stuck on “skid row” or fighting for a way out through the “Red Power” movement. There was a different but equally important outcome, however, in that many Native people made successful transitions to urban life on their own terms, while many others returned to reservation or rural Native communities and saw new opportunities there while drawing upon urban experiences to make contributions to tribal economic and political initiatives. Virtually an entire generation of new Native American tribal leaders drew upon years of experience living in major urban areas where they gained a more intimate understanding of how settler economies, politics, and power networks functioned.