Native Americans in the United States, similar to other indigenous people, created political, economic, and social movements to meet and adjust to major changes that impacted their cultures. For centuries, Native Americans dealt with the onslaught of non-Indian land claims, the appropriation of their homelands, and the destruction of their ways of life. Through various movements, Native Americans accepted, rejected, or accommodated themselves to the nontraditional worldviews of the colonizers and their policies. The Historical Dictionary of Native American Movements is designed to provide a useful reference for students and scholars to consult on topics dealing with key movements, organizations, leadership strategies, and the major issues these groups confronted. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Native American Movements contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 200 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, language, religion, politics, and the environment.

"Leahy and independent scholar Wilson provide around 250 dictionary entries tracing Native American organizations, movements, events, leaders, and issues. Entries range from a few sentences (e.g., American Indian Community House in NYC) to a few pages (e.g., American Indian Movement)…. [T]his unique work suits beginning researchers needing brief background information and ready-reference collections that do not already own the original. Summing Up: Recommended. Beginning students; general readers." - CHOICE

"Todd Leahy, conservation director for the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, and Nathan Wilson have authored a second edition of a work first published in 2008…. The work begins with four introductory sections. The first is a map of the United States’ 48 contiguous states entitled ‘Map of Native American Movements.’ There are 16 spots on the map but there is no explanation as to why those locales are significant. It is followed by ‘Acronyms and Abbreviations.’ The ‘Chronology’ begins with the occupation of Monte Verde in present-day Chile at c. 12,500 B.C.E. and concludes with a mention that in 2015 the health of American Indians continues to be an issue…. The final section is the ‘Introduction,’ which is a 34-page essay that provides an overview of American Indian history.... [The authors] contextualize the entries included in the main body of the work. The dictionary includes approximately 250 entries.... The work concludes with an 18-page bibliography. Fewer than 15 books and articles included in that section were published within the last 10 years. Of those, many are obituaries…. [T]his work would serve as a good ready-reference tool for public libraries due to its coverage of the American Indian Rights movement of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries." - American Reference Books Annual