Native America: A History

Offering an important variation to existing studies, Native America: A Brief History places the lives and experiences of native communities at the center of the narrative. Chronologically organized and covering the period of first contact to the present day, Oberg focuses on 11 native communities in all parts of the United States, including the Mohegans, the Cherokee, the Powhatans, the Dakota Sioux, and the Pueblos, whose experiences encapsulate the principal themes and developments in Native American history. He describes the complex relationships they maintained with the colonial powers and, later, the United States and provides readers with an insight into the enormous diversity and varied experiences of Native Americans.

Written in a highly accessible style, Oberg provides an engaging and concise text that remains focused on Indian peoples and emphasizes their importance in the history of the United States.

List of Figures viii

List of Maps x

Introduction 1

1 Myths and Legends 7

The Beginning of the World 7

Rules for Living 13

Bears 24

2 Worlds New and Worlds Old 26

The Fundamental Violence of Discovery 26

Paths of Destruction 28

Tsenacommacah 36

The Mohegans 46

New Worlds 51

3 Living in the New World 53

Mourning Wars 53

Colonizing the Mohegans 58

The Word of God 61

Colonizing the Powhatans 65

Forging the Covenant Chain 69

Native Peoples and the French in a World of War 70

The Pueblos′ Revolt 75

Horses 79

The Grand Settlement 84

The Cherokees 86

Native Peoples and the Nature of Empires 90

4 Native Peoples and the Fall of European Empires 92

Penn′s Woods 92

The Potawatomis in a World of Confl icting Empires 93

Settlement and Unsettledness 97

Life at the Western Door 101

Behind the Frontier 103

The Great Wars for Empire 111

The Proclamation and the Indian Boundary Line 123

Indians and Empires 126

5 Native Peoples and the Rise of a New American Empire 128

Change in the Far Western World 128

Declarations of Independence 138

The Revolution and the Longhouse 141

Cherokees and Chickamaugas 146

England′s Allies and the Confederation 149

The Six Nations and the Empire State 152

Confederations 154

A New Order for the Ages 156

A Year of Consequence: 1794 160

The White Man′s Republic 162

6 Relocations and Removes 165

The Mohegans′ Struggle for Independence 165

The Rise of the Prophet 170

Handsome Lake 176

Dispossessing the Senecas 181

Pioneers and Exiles 185

Removing from the Missions 198

The Optimism of the Imperialist 199

7 The Invasion of the Great West 201

Pledges and Promises 201

Settling in and Settling down 211

Homesteaders 214

Concentration 219

The Indians′ Civil War 228

Peace and War 232

8 The Age of Dispossession 248

"Conform To It or Be Crushed By It" 248

Ghost Dancers 250

The Assault on Indian Identity 253

Living under the New Regime 258

The New Life in the Indian Territory 262

The Crows and Life on the Northern Plains 272

Native Peoples in the Eastern United States 277

A Movement for Reform 285

The Origins of the Indian New Deal 288

9 New Deals and Old Deals 291

Reforming Indian Policy 291

Native Peoples and World War II 298

Termination and the Coalminer′s Canary 304

Cleaning the Slate 312

New Frontiers 315

Red Power 318

10 Sovereign Nations and Colonized Nations 324

Self–Determination 324

The State of the Nations 326

Exercising Sovereignty 336

Toward the Future 345

Appendix I A Reference Timeline 349

Appendix II Discussion Points for Native America: A Brief History 360

Select Bibliography 363

Index 378

Michael Leroy Oberg is Professor of History at the University of Houston. He is author of Dominion and Civility: English Imperialism and Native America, 1585 1686 (1999; 2003), Uncas: First of the Mohegans (2003; 2007), and The Head in Edward Nugent s Hand: Lost Tribes and Lost Colonies at Roanoke Island (2007; 2010), and editor of Samuel Wiseman′s Book of Record: The Official Account of Bacon′s Rebellion in Virginia, 1676 1677 (2005; 2009). In addition to teaching, Oberg received a SUNY Chancellor s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2003.