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Rating: 
Summary: Both Scholarly and Enjoyable
Review: With some writers, an abunce of detail is mind-numbing, as in the "begat" passages of the Old Testament. In contrast, Tanis Thorne uses a myriad of details as would a pointillistic painter to create a vivid and poignant biography of Afro-Muskogee Jackson Barnett, "The Richest Indian in the World".Barnett had belonged to the Muskogee faction opposed to individual land allotment, known as Snakes. On the Snakes' refusing to designate choice homesteads, allotments were issued in their names in the hardscrabble hills of Oklahoma. Barnett's 160-acre allotment ironically turned out to be centered over one of the world's great oil pools. Barnett was thereafter placed under state court conservatorship to limit the enormous flow of oil royalties to a meager living allowance. An attractive "adventuress" heard of Barnett's wealth, located his modest home and eloped with him the following day. A three-way battle erupted between the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Oklahoma state courts and Anna Barnett for control of the fortune. Anna Barnett succeeded in prying free enough income to finance a move to a fashionable suburb of Los Angeles, where Jackson Barnett passed many of his days directing traffic. He became a regular tourist attraction. Anna ultimately lost after Jackson Barnett's death. The marriage was judicially annulled and Anna was evicted from the home. She died in poverty years later. Dr. Thorne uses the biography to portray the inherent clash between Creek values of generosity and sharing and the dominant culture of selfishness. Using this theme, Dr. Thorne segues into a brief discussion of today's Cobell litigation challenging the entire federal trust accounting of American Indian funds. This book is a valuable contribution to American Indian history. Beyond that, the book sets a high standard for combining historic writing with lively and accessible prose.
Rating:
Summary: Both Scholarly and Enjoyable
Review: With some writers, an abunce of detail is mind-numbing, as in the "begat" passages of the Old Testament. In contrast, Tanis Thorne uses a myriad of details as would a pointillistic painter to create a vivid and poignant biography of Afro-Muskogee Jackson Barnett, "The Richest Indian in the World". Barnett had belonged to the Muskogee faction opposed to individual land allotment, known as Snakes. On the Snakes' refusing to designate choice homesteads, allotments were issued in their names in the hardscrabble hills of Oklahoma. Barnett's 160-acre allotment ironically turned out to be centered over one of the world's great oil pools. Barnett was thereafter placed under state court conservatorship to limit the enormous flow of oil royalties to a meager living allowance. An attractive "adventuress" heard of Barnett's wealth, located his modest home and eloped with him the following day. A three-way battle erupted between the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Oklahoma state courts and Anna Barnett for control of the fortune. Anna Barnett succeeded in prying free enough income to finance a move to a fashionable suburb of Los Angeles, where Jackson Barnett passed many of his days directing traffic. He became a regular tourist attraction. Anna ultimately lost after Jackson Barnett's death. The marriage was judicially annulled and Anna was evicted from the home. She died in poverty years later. Dr. Thorne uses the biography to portray the inherent clash between Creek values of generosity and sharing and the dominant culture of selfishness. Using this theme, Dr. Thorne segues into a brief discussion of today's Cobell litigation challenging the entire federal trust accounting of American Indian funds. This book is a valuable contribution to American Indian history. Beyond that, the book sets a high standard for combining historic writing with lively and accessible prose.
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