Contested Territory: Whites, Native Americans, and African Americans in Oklahoma, 1865--1907 - Tapa blanda

Murray Wickett has produced a much-appreciated and well-docmented interpretation of racial interplay in Indian/Oklahoma Territory that is destined to stir the profession. He captures the malicious use of racism, primarily by Anglo-Americans, to not only exploit and dominate Native and African Americans, but in turn to encourage Indians to use it to manipulate and subjugate black Oklahomans. The story is painful but much welcomed.--Jere W. Roberson, Central Oklahoma University

Wickett's comprehensive study of the relationship between members of the Five Civilized Tribes and their former slaves provides a compelling view of the struggle for integration into the political and social structure of society in Indian Territory following the American Civil War. That class struggle would culminate with the Curtis Act dissolving the tribal governments of the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles, thus paving the way for African Americans with ties to those tribes to be granted citizenship and land over the objections of the Indians.--William D. Welge, Oklahoma Historical Society

Wickett's study of the triracial society of Indian Territory/Oklahoma is the first of its kind. Standard scholarly fare in the subject of race relations in that region focuses on black-Indian, black-white, or white-Indian interaction. Until Wickett's study, there have been no significant comparative studies of black-Indian-white relations. Wickett is, in effect, a pioneer in that field. Anyone interested in race relations in America, particularly in the Trans-Mississippi West, must read this book.--Daniel F. Littlefield, author of Seminole Burning: A Story of Racial Vengeance