Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America

In this book, Daniel Richter explores some of the history of Native Americans who lived east of the Mississippi, from the time of their "discovery of Europe" not long after 1492 to the early 1800s. Throughout, he attempts to reconstruct something of what this period was like, not for Europeans and their descendants (who were facing west, as it were), but for Indians (who were facing east). In order to get at his subject, Richter routinely attempts to read between the lines of texts produced by Euro-Americans. In addition, he exploits the findings of archaeology and listens to folklore, which sometimes lends support to unconfirmed readings of the other sorts of evidence.In Chapter 1, Richter unfolds some of the initial stories related to the expeditions of Hernando de Soto and visits of Jacques Cartier. Chapter 2 details the economic, ecological, and biological ramifications of the Indians' contact with Europeans. In Chapter 3, Richter, while facing east, takes up the biographies of Pocahontas, Kateri Tekakwitha, and "King Philip." Chapter 4 explores a methodological question that is basic to his approach: How should historians read and interpret documents in order to get at the thoughts, interests, and motivations of Indians? In Chapter 5, while following a chronological progression, Richter now enters the eighteenth century, imagining the view from the east of an Atlantic Imperial World. Coming into the era of the American Revolution and its aftermath, Chapter 6 focuses on the year 1763, the time of Pontiac's Rebellion and Paxton Boys affair. That date and those events, says Richter, marked the end of a long era when Native- and Euro-American power was much more balanced. The Epilogue takes its title from a historical lecture delivered by "William Apess, a Pequot": Eulogy on King Philip. Here, Richter cites this nineteenth century lecture, which compares favorably King Philip to George Washington, and the Indians' cause to the American Revolution, as an early example of facing east.There are at least two reasons why some readers may not like this book. First, although the research behind it is impeccable, its method is exploratory, experimental. Nowhere does Richter pretend to give the final word about anything he's discussing. This isn't straight performance of a long, classic piece. It's more like several short pieces of jazz. Second, what seems clear to me is that the chapters of this book were written at different times, with breaks in between. Consequently, the chapters, though closely related, read like a series of stand-alone explorations.I gave this book five stars because, as I see it, this is the work of a disciplined historian who does not shy away from the creative, imaginative character of his craft. Facing East from Indian Country is the product of hard work and a bit of courage. I can't help admiring that.

Daniel Richter offers a very different perspective on the early history of Eastern North America by attempting to reconstruct how the arrival of Europeans in North America and their subsequent colonization might have been viewed by Indians "facing east". This is in contrast to the usual accounts from the European point of view that faces and moves west.I found "Facing East from Indian Country" a valuable supplement to other books that I have read about early American history. I found Richter's paradigm very insightful. For instance, the notion that Europe was the "New World" to the Indians while North America was their "Old World" really does lead one to think differently about the historical events of the period. I also think Richter does a great service by discussing the impact of the Europeans on the Indians which is usually ignored in standard books on American history. It's actually a very interesting, although also very sad, story that involves much more than epidemics and warfare; but other books ignore it to a large degree since they provide histories of the "United States" viewed as a nation rather than histories of "North America" viewed as a region. These books ignore the story of the Indians because they are essentially viewed as being outsiders within the "United States" (and the previously existing British colonies).While Richter is critical of European and later U.S. actions against the Indians, he has not written a politically correct book that casts the Indians as innocent victims of evil Europeans. Indeed, he describes how Indians often warred against each other and even enslaved their war captives for sale to South Carolina and West Indies plantations. He also points out that the British tried to prevent white settlers from encroaching on Indian lands west of the Appalachians with the Royal Proclamation of 1763. Unfortunately, U.S. policy after the American Revolution reversed that policy.

A very thought-provoking book that will undoubtedly adjust your perceptions of the indigenous American world during the first contact phase of colonial history.