This work investigates the historical paradox wherein the creation of American national parks necessitated the systematic removal and dispossession of Indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands. Mark David Spence, a historian specializing in the intersection of environmental policy and Native American history, utilizes archival records and government policy documents to construct his argument. He posits that the American wilderness ideal was not a neutral conservation effort but a political mechanism that functioned in tandem with the reservation system to marginalize Native populations.

Scholars and historians frequently cite this text as a foundational critique of the American conservation movement. Readers often note the academic rigor and the sobering clarity with which the author connects environmental policy to the broader history of settler colonialism.