I'm interested in books that explore economic, military, cultural, and spiritual relations between these peoples.
Of particular interest are the Nez Perce, Chinook, Apache and other western Native peoples. I want to learn more both from their perspective and the government's.
Who are the best historians to read on these subject? And what works in particular should I explore?
Well it's tough to say what's the"best" because there was a number of different native American tribes that all had different relationships with the United States government. So any book trying to cover all of the different groups, would be able to hey very detailed with all of them or you'd be looking at a very long book.
A good place to start is the classic "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown. It's a bit dated now, but it was the first attempt to show the history of the US from the point of view of the American Indians. It does cover a lot of troves and tone periods though so it doesn't go into too much detail with each tribe, but it's a great starting point.
Have you checked our book list?