The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977 Page: 453

View a full description of this periodical.

Book Reviews

Mooney's historical sketch of the Cherokee is very difficult to discuss
dispassionately. Since my childhood, I have been shown family photo-
graphs made by Mooney, or taken to places where he fished, or where
he wrote such and such a piece of information while he was living with
the Eastern Cherokee. In all my experience as an anthropologist, I have
never encountered reminiscences of an ethnographer which were more
positive in nature. Mooney worked with several Indian groups, but spent
most of his time and effort among the Cherokee. His historical sketch is
written with thoroughness and an understanding acquired through years
of patient study and extensive investigation. My only personal problem
with this volume arises from the indication in the foreword and in the
introduction that the Western band of Cherokee is the only extant band.
While this is perhaps a minor oversight, or indication of the origin of
the authors of these items, it is difficult for an Eastern Cherokee to read
this without feeling left out.
Both Royce and Mooney wrote books which are historically based,
thoroughly prepared, and scholarly. Both represent excellent selections on
the part of the Cherokee from the reports available to them in the Bureau
of American Ethnology publications. Taken together, these two books
provide a very firm basis for developing an understanding of the Cherokee.
University of Texas at Austin MARCIA HERNDON
The Army and the Navajo: The Bosque Redondo Reservation Experi-
ment, 1863-1868. By Gerald Thompson. (Tucson: University of Ari-
zona Press, 1976. Pp. vi 196. Illustrations, appendix, index. $8.50.)
For five years the bulk of the Navajo Indians were removed from their
homeland and transplanted to a forty square mile reservation in eastern
New Mexico Territory known as the Bosque Redondo. This experiment
in federal Indian policy, conducted under the command of Brigadier
General James H. Carleton, was designed to halt Navajo raids against the
New Mexico settlements and to demonstrate that the Navajos could be
"civilized" by concentration on an agricultural preserve. In some ways
the Bosque Redondo experiment resembled earlier attempts to remove
Indians from their native habitats. In other ways it foreshadowed later at-
tempts to force agricultural pursuits upon the nomadic hunters of the plains.
That the experiment failed in its essential goals is well known. Two
earlier studies of the Bosque Redondo, one, a series of articles by the late
Frank D. Reeve which appeared in the New Mexico Historical Review in
1937-1938, and the second, a book by Lynn R. Bailey in 1970, have

453

Upcoming Pages

Here’s what’s next.

upcoming item: 508 508 of 558
upcoming item: 509 509 of 558
upcoming item: 510 510 of 558
upcoming item: 511 511 of 558

Show all pages in this issue.

This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.

Tools / Downloads

Get a copy of this page .

Citing and Sharing

Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.

Reference the current page of this Periodical.

Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977, periodical, 1976/1977; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101204/m1/507/ocr/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

Univesal Viewer

International Image Interoperability Framework (This Page)

Back to Top of Screen