Review by Karen Ackermann
|
The English saw the lands of America as empty of people, even as they traded with the native residents. Both the English and the Spaniards looked on the natives as animal-like and worthy of being slaves. The French saw opportunities for trade and converts to Christianity among the native populations. Euro-Americans waffled between opinions of "pest" and "noble savage" when they considered the Indians while they spread across the continent and dislocated the native people. Just who were these many groups of Native Americans occupying this vast land new to Europeans? Colin Calloway begins with the first arrivals in North America and their spread across the landscape. He then covers the diffusion of corn--a vegetable that would become a staple in the diets of many tribes; contact with the Spaniards (especially in New Mexico) and the spread of horse culture; contact with the French in mid-continent; the collision of rival European powers and the Indians' response to the whites' imperialistic endeavors; the impact on Indians of events from the time of the American Revolution to the exploratory journey made by Lewis and Clark; and the devastation that small pox wrecked on native populations. Sweeping across America from the Appalachian Mountains to the Pacific Coast, the author focuses his narrative on conflict and change as he masterfully blends the sub-disciplines of ethnohistory, colonial history, and frontier history. By featuring Indian voices and perspectives, Calloway offers a dynamic reconstruction of cultural histories and unparalleled glimpses of the lives of generations of America's first people. An erudite, magnificent account. |
