A History of the Indians of the United States (Civilization of the American Indian Series) [Paperback]

Angie Debo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1984 | Series: Civilization of the American Indian Series (Book 106)

In 1906 when the Creek Indian Chitto Harjo was protesting the United States government's liquidation of his tribe's lands, he began his argument with an account of Indian history from the time of Columbus, "for, of course, a thing has to have a root before it can grow." Yet even today most intelligent non-Indian Americans have little knowledge of Indian history and affairs those lessons have not taken root.

This book is an in-depth historical survey of the Indians of the United States, including the Eskimos and Aleuts of Alaska, which isolates and analyzes the problems which have beset these people since their first contacts with Europeans. Only in the light of this knowledge, the author points out, can an intelligent Indian policy be formulated.

In the book are described the first meetings of Indians with explorers, the dispossession of the Indians by colonial expansion, their involvement in imperial rivalries, their beginning relations with the new American republic, and the ensuing century of war and encroachment.

The most recent aspects of government Indian policy are also detailed the good and bad administrative practices and measures to which the Indians have been subjected and their present situation.

Miss Debo's style is objective, and throughout the book the distinct social environment of the Indians is emphasized—an environment that is foreign to the experience of most white men. Through ignorance of that culture and life style the results of non-Indian policy toward Indians have been centuries of blundering and tragedy.

In response to Indian history, an enlightened policy must be formulated: protection of Indian land, vocational and educational training, voluntary relocation, encouragement of tribal organization, recognition of Indians' social groupings, and reliance on Indians' abilities to direct their own lives.

The result of this new policy would be a chance for Indians to live now, whether on their own land or as adjusted members of white society. Indian history is usually highly specialized and is never recorded in books of general history. This book unifies the many specialized volumes which have been written about their history and culture. It has been written not only for persons who work with Indians or for students of Indian culture, but for all Americans of good will.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Angie Debo was reared in a pioneer community, at Marshall, Oklahoma, where it has been her privilege to know from childhood the folkways of the Indians and the traditions of the western settlers. A member of her community high school's first graduating class, she later attended the University of Oklahoma, where she was a Phi Beta Kappa, and took her B.A. and later her Ph.D. degree; she received her master's degree from the University of Chicago. Her education was combined with intervals of teaching in country schools, starting at the age of sixteen.

Miss Debo's distinguished reputation as a regional scholar has been enhanced by her book, The Rise and. Fall of the Choctaw Republic, which won the John H. Dunning prize of the American Historical Society for the best book submitted in the field of United States history in 1934, and for her later, book, And Still the Waters Run. She has been a teacher in schools and colleges both in Oklahoma and Texas and was curator of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas. More recently she has been state director of the Federal Writers' Project in Oklahoma, in which capacity she edited Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State for the American Guide Series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (March 15, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806118881
• ISBN-13: 978-0806118888
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #798,127 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding overview, January 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A History of the Indians of the United States (Civilization of the American Indian Series) (Paperback)

I sought a panoramic view of Native American history and found it in this volume. Dr. Debo's writing is lucid and captivating. She is expert in the history of the Five Civilized Tribes but demonstrates her passion for all of Native American history in her superb coverage of other tribes.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history, October 16, 2002

By 

Richard Pearce (Norton, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A History of the Indians of the United States (Civilization of the American Indian Series) (Paperback)

Though written in 1970 as a major contribution to the revisionist history of native tribes in the U.S., it has been updated at late as 1983 and remains a very thorough history and distrurbing but nonetheless fascinating book to read.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Typical Debo, March 31, 2002

By 

P. J. Orchard (Biggleswade, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A History of the Indians of the United States (Civilization of the American Indian series) (Hardcover)

This book is so typical of Angie Debo, well written, factual, and so full of feeling for the subject, that one often feels you are taking part in the events descibed in the book.

A very useful "general history" of Native Americans