The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told

Utilizing the "trickster" literary device, this week's review employs Indigenous studies and law to assess the “federal government’s assumption of plenary power over Indian affairs.”

Posted on October 13, 2025 in Reviews of the Month

The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told: Native America, the Supreme Court, and the U.S. Constitution

Richotte, Jr., Keith. Stanford, 2025
296p bibl index, 9781503641648 $30.00, 9781503641655

The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told book cover.

The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told is the story of the federal government’s assumption of plenary power over Indian affairs. The text reflects Richotte’s training in both Indigenous studies and law, and could not have been written without drawing on substance and pedagogy from both disciplines. It is indispensable to scholars approaching the question of plenary power from both perspectives. Richotte (Univ. of Arizona) uses the literary and cultural device of the trickster to examine, explain, and then critique Congress’s assumption of control over Indian country. The text is separated into five chapters, which more or less follow a chronology of history and law. It captures the discussion of Congress’s power over Native lands through both Supreme Court precedent and statutory enactments, while never losing sight of the impact these changes had on tribal communities. Richotte both explains and critiques the underlying assumptions on which plenary power is based, ultimately relying on international law and the most recent Brackeen decision to suggest that now is the time to be honest about the origins of plenary power and rethink the relationship between tribal sovereigns and the federal government.

Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels.
Reviewer: G. Christensen, Stetson University College of Law
Interdisciplinary Subjects: Law & Society, Native American Studies
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – Political Science – U.S. Politics
Choice Issue: Jul 2025

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The Worst Trickster Story Ever Told

Utilizing the "trickster" literary device, this week's review employs Indigenous studies and law to assess the “federal government’s assumption of plenary power over Indian affairs.”