The Cherokee Diaspora

Starred review from September 1, 2015

With many people self-identifying as Cherokee, a number of scholars have recently begun to probe what exactly that means. Circe Sturm's excellent Becoming Indian utilized U.S. Census Bureau data to study people who had categorized themselves as white for much of their lives but later considered themselves Native American. Smithers (history, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.; coeditor, Native Diasporas) is also interested in Cherokee identity but examines it through the aftermath of the removal of the Cherokee from their Southeastern homelands in the 1830s. The author carefully investigates how memory, tradition, and the refugee experience interacted to shape the identity of groups such as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee Nation, and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. A major strength is the author's exploration of how concepts of race formed the treatment of the Cherokee freedmen and their descendants following the Civil War. VERDICT Essential reading for anyone interested in the Cherokee, as it deftly documents how they determine who is a blood relative and why that matters, both in the past and today.--John R. Burch, Campbellsville Univ. Lib., KY

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.