In memoriam to Robert Knox Thomas (1925-1991). (social scientist and teacher on American Indian studies)(Focus on American Indian Studies)

It is fitting that this special issue on American Indians of the Social Science Journal be dedicated to the memory of Robert K. Thomas. As a Director and Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona from 1981 until his death in 1991, Thomas, a Cherokee, must be considered as one of the "founding fathers" of American Indian Studies as a scholarly discipline. For many years Thomas and his graduate students organized the American Indian Studies section at the yearly Western Social Science Association Conference. In time, under the guidance of Thomas, this section grew to be one of the largest at WSSA, and without question the most important annual gathering of American Indian scholars in North America.

Robert K. Thomas …