Dispossession by Degrees: Indian Land and Identity in Natick, Massachusetts, 1650-1790

Rating:
Summary: Just plain dull
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Dispelling the myth that Native Americans simply disappeared
Review: 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.