Historian, Dr. Robert Venables is professor and Director of American Indian Studies at Cornell University and a well respected member of the New York Native community. Dr. Venables' lecture discusses the cultural differences between European and Indian concepts of land and land ownership. These differences, coupled with the illegal and unjust taking of Indian land have over the years led to many Indian land claims against the United States government. In 1946 Congress created the Indian Land Claims Commission to adjudicate the overwhelming number of cases Indians had filed and were continuing to file. By the time the commission expired thirty-three years later more than a half billion dollars had been awarded. Nevertheless many cases remain pending and many others have yet to be filed. Dr. Venables explains this complicated history and examines both the historical and contemporary issues and the legal relationship between the tribes and U.S. government. Although the primary focus is on the Haudenausaunee (Iroquois) his talk includes issues concerning all tribes specifically, citizenship, Indian-to-Indian relationships, and the government's relationship with the tribes today.