By giving them state land and money, they avoided taking land from those who bought it legitimately from the government. Keezer said she thinks the court's decision was a positive change. Minnesota's Assistant Attorney General David Iverson, who represents the Department of Natural Resources, said testimony used in courts now is largely based on American Indian historians' accounts and mind-sets when the treaties were signed, as well as on their current beliefs. Any kind of history is relevant in our case. Jones said laws passed within the last 70 years have gathered momentum for the Native American struggle.
Oral history is the basis of the people's history.