Review Essay: Osceola: The White Man\u27s Indian

Patricia R. Wickman’s study of Osceola is not a typical biography. She outlines the major events in the life of Osceola, but her focus is primarily on Osceolana— that is, the artifacts associated with the hero of the Seminoles’ struggle to remain in their homeland. She attempts to separate the genuine accounts of his life and accurate visual representations of him from those that are derivative, and she authenticates some personal belongings while casting considerable doubt on others. Her narrative reads like a detective story. Like all detective work, some of her investigation is technical and dull, while other parts are exciting historical drama. But the drama lies not so much in who Osceola was but in who he has become

Book Review: Indigenous American Women: Decolonization, Empowerment, Activism

Devon Mihesuah has written a powerful book about the impact of colonization on the indigenous peoples of North America, especially indigenous women. Never losing sight of the enormous diversity of indigenous America, she nevertheless draws out commonalities - the centrality of women to indigenous religions, economies, and decision-making; the deleterious effects of European invasion; the efforts of indigenous women (and men) to revitalize their cultures; the social and individual healing that comes through tribalism and activism. The essays do not comprise a narrative history but instead develop interrelated themes in three parts - Research and Writing, Colonialism and Native Women, and Activists and Feminists. Trained as a historian, Mihesuah provides a useful overview of the past in Colonialism and Disempowerment, which concludes with examples, such as domestic abuse and the power of stereotypes, that link the history of European oppression to modern social issues. In an essay on the Cherokee Female Seminary, she explores both the internalization of European racial and gender norms and the creation of a strong sense of tribal identity among students, suggesting that the effects of colonialism are remarkably complex

Chronicles of Oklahoma

Article describes the history of the American Colonization movement, repatriation of African Americans to Africa, and the history of plantation slavery in the Cherokee Nation. Theda Perdue explores the reasons behind the mass emigration and the struggles both enslaved and freed African Americans faced