Forcibly removed from their homes in the late 1830s; Cherokee; Creek; Choctaw; and Chickasaw Indians brought their African-descended slaves with them along the Trail of Tears and resettled in Indian Territory; present-day Oklahoma. Celia E. Naylor vividly charts the experiences of enslaved and free African Cherokees from the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma's entry into the Union in 1907. Carefully extracting the voices of former slaves from interviews and mining a range of sources in Oklahoma; she creates an engaging narrative of the composite lives of African Cherokees. Naylor explores how slaves connected with Indian communities not only through Indian customs--language; clothing; and food--but also through bonds of kinship.Examining this intricate and emotionally charged history; Naylor demonstrates that the "red over black" relationship was no more benign than "white over black." She presents new angles to traditional understandings of slave resistance and counters previous romanticized ideas of slavery in the Cherokee Nation. She also challenges contemporary racial and cultural conceptions of African-descended people in the United States. Naylor reveals how black Cherokee identities evolved reflecting complex notions about race; culture; "blood;" kinship; and nationality. Indeed; Cherokee freedpeople's struggle for recognition and equal rights that began in the nineteenth century continues even today in Oklahoma.
#1018437 in Books The University of North Carolina Press 2004-08-30 2005-08-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x 1.07 x 5.75l; 1.30 #File Name: 0807855758432 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. War in the West told with verve.By Patrick YoungAfter German immigrants essentially overthrew the pro-Confederate government in Missouri in 1861; they tried to expel all Confederate forces from the state. Wilson's Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It tells the story of these radicalized immigrants and the Federal officials who supported them.This is not a simple battle history; but a complex investigation of communities at war. The Battle of Wilson's Creek lasted six hours; but the forces that drove 15;000 men there to slaughter one another had been gathering for years. William Garrett Piston and Richard Hatcher do an excellent job of dissecting the causes of the Civil War in Missouri; as well as the motives of soldiers from Kansas; Iowa; Arkansas; Louisiana; and Texas who fought as allies of the contending armies from Missouri.The writing is fine; the anecdotes are telling; and the analysis is first rate. All Civil War history should aspire to be this good.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. THE BEST BOOK ON WILSON'S CREEKBy CTS 2631Not only does this book give the best description of the battle to date; but as the title implies it informs the reader about the background of the men who fought the battle and the military units they served in. Also it describes the relationship between the various combat units and the communities they were from. When I first started the book I thought all this background might detract from the description of the campaign and battle but I found that it only enhanced the telling of this history and improved my overall knowledge of the Battle of Wilson's Creek.The commanding officers and civilian leaders of both sides are introduced to the reader as well as background on the coming of the war and the situation in Missouri in 1861. The authors then describe the chain of events that lead the various units from their homes to the armies that eventually end up fighting by a small creek (Wilson's Creek) in the Southwest corner of Missouri.Piston and Hatcher do a fine job writing this book; it is easy to comprehend and follow the action. The maps were sufficient for me; and I felt there were enough of them to tell the story. There are eight maps total and my only gripe with them is that the battle maps do not show the contours of the terrain. So even though from the text the reader knows the troops are battling on "Bloody Hill" you have no idea how big that or any other hill in the battlefield area is. And you cant see the depression that the southern forces formed in under the nose of Union General Sigel's forces before they routed them. Besides that complaint I can only praise the maps. The Theater of Operations map; Campaign map; and six Battle maps show the reader everything else they need to follow the action.The book is richly illustrated by my estimate. It has 41 photos and drawings of leaders; soldiers; combat units; locations of interest; a participants hand drawn map; and battle drawings. An Order of Battle with losses per unit and Notes section that included some good extra information complete this outstanding volume on the Battle of Wilson's Creek.If you only read one book on this campaign and battle; it should be this one! (But for further reading I suggest; even though it is an older title; "The Battle of Wilson's Creek" by Edwin C. Bearss. It is good but a little dated.)1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good read. Detailed enough to not be boringBy Alton DavisGood read. Detailed enough to not be boring. Like author view how both sides communties influence the men. More so than fighting for some cause. Description of the battle and movement of men was very easy to follow
