This study is to analyze the transformation of the policies of different political systems for ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands (Vietnam) from French colonial rule to American warfare in the context of decolonization, cold-war politics, and attempts of national state formation. While substantial attention has been given to the pacification tactics, military campaigns, fighting took place in the hinterland battlefield; limited has been bestowed upon the domination strategies adopted over the Central Highlands during the period under review. This work goes one step further by examining the struggle of "the people-in-between" and interpreting policies of the actors those who fought terrible battles to gain the control, legitimize and stabilize their power in this contested space.