Customer Reviews

Requiem for a People: The Rogue Indians and the Frontiersmen (Northwest Reprints)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Beckham has done more to understand the history of the Indian people of the Oregon coast than any other author. As a member of the Coos tribe, I am grateful for his attention to a history which not only very few non-Indians but also Indian people are aware.

However, mostly missing in this book is the Indian voice, or a discussion of the motivation and understanding of the Indian people who were being uprooted and systematically killed. While Beckham is clearly sympathetic to Indians, this is still a book written from the dominant culture's perspective; even so, the discussion of the motivations of the non-Indian settlers is somewhat superficial.

Because so little is written on the subject, this is an important addition to the history of the Oregon Coast in the early 19th century.

Professor Beckham's presents a terse and lucid account of the displacement of the natives of the Rogue Valley and surrounding areas. I grew up in the Rogue Valley and in fact my family homesteaded there, although they began a couple of decades after the natives had been displaced to reservations. I wish very much that this book had been required reading in my high school, because we were raised to be essentially blind to the melancholy history of our area.

The book is essentially a scholarly memoir, with extensive footnoting for anyone wanting to find more detail in the historical record. Yet, the writing is accessible and vivid. This is a highly recommended read.