According to Jean O'Brien, Indians did not simply disappear from colonial Natick, Massachusetts as the English extended their domination. Rather, the Indians creatively resisted colonialism, defended their lands, and rebuilt kin networks and community through the strategic use of English cultural practices and institutions. In the late eighteenth century, Natick Indians experienced a process of "dispossession by degrees" that rendered them invisible within the larger context of the colonial social order, and enabled the construction of the myth of Indian extinction.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"In this thorough, well-written study of the Native American community of Natick, Massachusettes, Jean O'Brien demonstrates the remarkable evolution in the historical treatment of Indians in New England in the past thirty years....For readers who wish to understand in greater detail how native people came to lose the majority of the vast lands they controlled at the time of the first English settlements in southern New England, this book serves as an admirable case study." North Carolina Historical Review
"A welcome addition to the growing literature of studies about New England native people." Choice
"This is an excellent study, based on exhaustive research in the only sources available." Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"Jean O'Brien has challenged this myth of Indian extinction in a masterful social history tracing the rise and decline of the Naticks to the end of the eighteenth century. Her work is essential to the specialist who wishes to understand the complex relationships between Europeans and Native Americans in early New England. O'Brien's thesis is clearly stated. Dispossesion by Degrees must be nearly definitive in its exhaustive study if the tragic consequences resulting from the cultural changes imposed upon the Naticks. It speaks with eloquence for those Native Americans who are supposed to have disappeared but still struggle to maintain their cultural identity." New England Quarterly
"O'Brien convincingly demontrates the survival of lineages and individuals into the ninteenth century after Natick had become a Euro-American town." Journal of American History
"The author has not only produced a stimulating, vivid, and moving story but significantly deepened our understanding of Natick by penetrating into the inner working of the Indians." Historical Journal of Massachusetts
"O'Brien tells this complex story well. Indeed, it is her care in presenting its complexity that serves her--and the reader--particularly well....The author has used well the tools of ethnohistory, mining vital records, local town histories and documents, land deeds, and probate records effectively....O'Brien has added to our understanding of the European/native clash. Her story is carefully told, and it is ultimately in its complexity that it garners its deepest meaning." American Historical Review
"...they have thoroughly reshaped how the history of early American women and gender relations is understood and taught." Signs
"emphasizes the importance of soverignty to the preseverance of native peoples. She carefully reconstructs the history of the most prominent Indian communties in early New England-the "Praying Town" of Natick Massachuetts... Dispossesion by Degrees is convincing. O'Brien is at her best when she presents her meticulous original research into Natick records. She carefully reads the sources for subtexts and perceives their ideological function as English propaganda. Even so, she succeeds in extracting from these sources evidence of Natick people's preseverance and resourcefulness." Tearsheet From William & Mary Quarterly
"A welcome addition to the growing literature of studies about New England native people." Choice
"This is an excellent study, based on exhaustive research in the only sources available." Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"Jean O'Brien has challenged this myth of Indian extinction in a masterful social history tracing the rise and decline of the Naticks to the end of the eighteenth century. Her work is essential to the specialist who wishes to understand the complex relationships between Europeans and Native Americans in early New England. O'Brien's thesis is clearly stated. Dispossesion by Degrees must be nearly definitive in its exhaustive study if the tragic consequences resulting from the cultural changes imposed upon the Naticks. It speaks with eloquence for those Native Americans who are supposed to have disappeared but still struggle to maintain their cultural identity." New England Quarterly
"O'Brien convincingly demontrates the survival of lineages and individuals into the ninteenth century after Natick had become a Euro-American town." Journal of American History
"The author has not only produced a stimulating, vivid, and moving story but significantly deepened our understanding of Natick by penetrating into the inner working of the Indians." Historical Journal of Massachusetts
"O'Brien tells this complex story well. Indeed, it is her care in presenting its complexity that serves her--and the reader--particularly well....The author has used well the tools of ethnohistory, mining vital records, local town histories and documents, land deeds, and probate records effectively....O'Brien has added to our understanding of the European/native clash. Her story is carefully told, and it is ultimately in its complexity that it garners its deepest meaning." American Historical Review
"...they have thoroughly reshaped how the history of early American women and gender relations is understood and taught." Signs
"emphasizes the importance of soverignty to the preseverance of native peoples. She carefully reconstructs the history of the most prominent Indian communties in early New England-the "Praying Town" of Natick Massachuetts... Dispossesion by Degrees is convincing. O'Brien is at her best when she presents her meticulous original research into Natick records. She carefully reads the sources for subtexts and perceives their ideological function as English propaganda. Even so, she succeeds in extracting from these sources evidence of Natick people's preseverance and resourcefulness." Tearsheet From William & Mary Quarterly
Book Description
According to Jean O'Brien, Indians did not simply disappear from colonial Natick, Massachusetts as the English extended their domination. Rather, the Indians creatively resisted colonialism, defended their lands, and rebuilt kin networks and community through the strategic use of English cultural practices and institutions. In the late eighteenth century, Natick Indians experienced a process of "dispossession by degrees" that rendered them invisible within the larger context of the colonial social order, and enabled the construction of the myth of Indian extinction.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dispelling the myth that Native Americans simply disappeared,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Dispossession by Degrees: Indian Land and Identity in Natick, Massachusetts, 1650-1790 (Paperback)
Dispossession By Degrees: Indian Land And Identity In Natick, Massachusetts 1650-1790 by Jean M. O'Brien (Associate Professor of History, University of Minnesota) is a close and scholarly study of how Native American peoples from different tribal backgrounds came together for the purpose of working collaboratively to cope the cultural impact of European invaders, and to form a life for themselves even as English settlers extended their range of influence during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Dispelling the myth that Native Americans simply disappeared from the land, Dispossession By Degrees presents a carefully researched focus upon the Natick tribe and settlement that sought to coexist with an unending influx of settlers. An invaluable, informative, insightful contribution, Dispossession By Degrees is an original and very highly recommended addition to Native American Studies reading lists and American History reference collections.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Sudy,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Dispossession by Degrees: Indian Land and Identity in Natick, Massachusetts, 1650-1790 (Studies in North American Indian History) (Hardcover)
A carefully researched, thoughtful, well-written study. I suspect reviewer number two is just plain dull. I suggest potential readers refer to the editorial reviews.
2 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Just plain dull,
By A Customer
This review is from: Dispossession by Degrees: Indian Land and Identity in Natick, Massachusetts, 1650-1790 (Paperback)
Academic jargon and boring prose doom this short book from the beginning. The authoir has forgotten she needs to tell a story. Details of land transactions, of which she goes on far too long, read about like a phone book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
In the New England colonial encounter, Native peoples and the English who came to their lands confronted each other as strangers. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
meetinghouse dispute, future land divisions, husbandry tools, extinction myth, proprietors book, probate docket, proprietary privileges, military disability, praying town, town governance, proprietary families, corporate agreement, bounded place, vital records, land market, proprietary system, final division Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New England, General Court, Natick Indians, New York, Thomas Waban, Joseph Ephraim, John Speen, Praying Towns, Massachusetts Bay, King Philip's War, Samuel Abraham, Benjamin Tray, Hannah Speen, John Ephraim, Morse Institute Public Library, Native Writings, Oliver Peabody, Thomas Peegun, Massachusetts Historical Society, Tears of Repentance, Thomas Awassamug, Tongue Brought, Benjamin Wiser, Historical Collections, House of Representatives New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the New England colonial encounter, Native peoples and the English who came to their lands confronted each other as strangers. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
meetinghouse dispute, future land divisions, husbandry tools, extinction myth, proprietors book, probate docket, proprietary privileges, military disability, praying town, town governance, proprietary families, corporate agreement, bounded place, vital records, land market, proprietary system, final division Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New England, General Court, Natick Indians, New York, Thomas Waban, Joseph Ephraim, John Speen, Praying Towns, Massachusetts Bay, King Philip's War, Samuel Abraham, Benjamin Tray, Hannah Speen, John Ephraim, Morse Institute Public Library, Native Writings, Oliver Peabody, Thomas Peegun, Massachusetts Historical Society, Tears of Repentance, Thomas Awassamug, Tongue Brought, Benjamin Wiser, Historical Collections, House of Representatives New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 62
books:
See all 62 books this book cites
21
books
cite this book:
See all 21 books citing this book
- Native Writings in Massachusett (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 185) by Ives Goddard on 8 pages
- RECOVERY OF MEANING PB (Anthropological Society of Washington Series) by Mark P. Leone on 4 pages
- Four Generations: Population, Land, and Family in Colonial Andover, Massachusetts by Philip Greven on 4 pages
- Strangers Within the Realm: Cultural Margins of the First British Empire by Bernard Bailyn in Front Matter, page 13, and page 93
- New English Canaan by Thomas Morton on page 14, page 17, and page 20
See all 62 books this book cites
- The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Between Law and Custom: 'High' and 'Low' Legal Cultures in the Lands of the British Diaspora - The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, 1600-1900 by Peter Karsten on page 55, and page 248
- The Name of War: King Philip's War and the Origins of American Identity by Jill Lepore in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A Companion to Colonial America (Blackwell Companions to American History) by Daniel Vickers on page 136, and page 233
- First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History by Colin G. Calloway on page 96, and page 167
See all 21 books citing this book
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
|
|
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Books > History > Americas > Native American
- Books > History > Americas > United States > State & Local
- Books > History > World
