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Dispossession by Degrees

Indian Land and Identity in Natick, Massachusetts, 1650-1790

Jean M O'Brien author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of Nebraska Press

Published:1st May '03

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Dispossession by Degrees cover

Why did New England settlers believe that the Native peoples had vanished? This work reveals that, in the late eighteenth century, the Natick tribe experienced a process of "dispossession by degrees" that rendered them invisible within the larger context of the colonial social order, thus enabling the construction of the myth of Indian extinction.Despite popular belief, Native peoples did not simply disappear from colonial New England as the English extended their domination in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Rather, the Native peoples in such places as Natick, Massachusetts, creatively resisted colonialism, defended their lands, and rebuilt kin networks and community through the strategic use of English cultural practices and institutions. So why did New England settlers believe that the Native peoples had vanished? In this thoroughly researched and astutely argued study, historian Jean M. O’Brien reveals that, in the late eighteenth century, the Natick tribe experienced a process of “dispossession by degrees,” which rendered them invisible within the larger context of the colonial social order, thus enabling the construction of the myth of Indian extinction.

“Readers will discover an astounding story of how Native peoples from different tribal backgrounds came together, adjusted to European concepts about land ownership, created a town, interacted with their non-Indian neighbors in land and other disputes, and still managed to maintain a sense of Indian identity. There is the clear perception that the Native Americans in the ‘Praying Town’ of Natick, Massachusetts, controlled their own destinies so far as possible.”—Choice

"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."—Wisconsin Bookwatch

ISBN: 9780803286191

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 369g

224 pages