Native American History Books

Native American History Books

R. David Edmunds, The Shawnee Prophet (1983)

Tenskwatawa, the younger brother of Tecumseh, the legendary Shawnee leader, is the focus of this useful and interesting book. Edmunds explores the nationalist vision of this Native American prophet, the conditions that contributed to his ascendance, and the rise and fall of the movement he initiated.

Michael Hittman and Don Lynch, Wovoka and the Ghost Dance (1997)

This is the best book on the Paiute mystic and the revival of the Ghost Dance in the 1890s. Based on meticulous research, including interviews with family members, the authors build a compelling and authoritative narrative.

William McLoughlin, Cherokee Renascence in the New Republic (1992)

McLouglin traces the nation building efforts of the Cherokees from the late-19th century through Worcester v. Georgia. He sets these efforts against an interesting introduction to Cherokee culture and society in the decades preceding.

Ronald Satz, American Indian Policy in the Jacksonian Era (1974)

This book offers the most balanced and useful review of Jackson's Native American policies. Satz provides a thoughtful exploration of the positions assumed by Jackson and the other participants in the debate over removal. The complications that plagued the removal process itself are also thoroughly discussed.

Thurman Wilkins, Cherokee Tragedy: The Ridge Family and the Decimation of a People (1989)

Wilkins offers a more sympathetic treatment of the Cherokee signers of the Treaty of New Echota than most other historians. Placing Major Ridge's decision within the context of a lifetime of nation-building efforts, Wilkins suggests there was more tragedy than treason within his actions.