The Worlds the Shawnees Made: Migration and Violence in Early America

by Stephen Warren

The Worlds the Shawnees Made( Migration and Violence in Early America) Hardcover StephenWarren UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress

Genres: History, Native American, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Anthropology, American History, War

308 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 2013

Reviews

[Isaac Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warren’s book, although a bit convoluted and sometimes hard to follow, provides a wonderfully detailed insight into the complications of Shawnee migration during the tumultuous post contact era. I read this for work and it was a very interesting and enlightening read.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing ethnographic study of one of the more versatile and transient Native American Tribes.

Warren's 2013 "The Worlds the Shawnees Made" is an interesting, if somewhat dry for the novice, approach to the Shawnee peoples covering about 350 years. While many native tribes were tied to specific geographic areas, Warren's approach is to present the Shawnees not as a geographically settled people but very much as a migratory/transient people by covering three major migratory periods across nearly the entire width and breadth of Eastern North America. Warren's narrative finds the Shawnees, in various places and at various times, acting as allies with some tribes, warring with others, on friendly relations with some colonists/Europeans, and antagonistic towards others.

To the extent there's a "problem" with this history, it's that the reader doesn't get much of a sense of the "Shawnee" as a tribe or people. This is in large part because they were *SO* geographically dispersed and made up of so many smaller tribal populations (and they themselves frequently intermingled/married of other tribes). In much the same way that it's difficult to pin the Shawnee down to a geographic location, that fact also makes it difficult to pin them down as a distinct and ethno-cultural entity. While I'm sure this largely a product of my unfamiliarity with the subject matter but Warren's writing (while adequate), rarely moves beyond the scholarly -- somewhat limiting the appeal of this otherwise useful history to a general reader.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some reason native American history and culture always really appeals to me, but I'm often quite disappointed in the actual execution of these histories. The main thing I took away from this book was that the Shawnee seems more like a bit of a collection of tribes rather than a tribe itself, and I guess that fragmentation makes them less of a coherent group than one is used to, and something that Europeans weren't necessarily used to dealing with. That said, I may have completely missed the point that the author was trying to make.

Other than that, a lot of the rest of the book feels like standard settlers vs. Indians stuff.

2.5 of 5 stars

[Logan Streondj · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty good overview of the Shawnee in broad strokes. Basically they started in illinois, then moved to ohio valley, and then went all over the place. Cause there were so many of them in different places, they ended up being good guides and interpreters as well as diplomats, and helped make various peace treaties.

[Elizabeth]

As heard on Teaching Hard History: American Slavery: http://traffic.libsyn.com/hardhistory...

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. Feels like a lot of repeat info if you've read other books in the same genre. Probably lots of sourcing all around from the Draper manuscripts. This one is a bit more historical than the narratives like the Frontiersman.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warren challenges traditional narratives of Iroquoian land claims in the North American woodlands. A fascinating read.

[Jessie]

DNF- maybe I’ll return to this book at some point, but it was just too slow and long for this season.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

My full review can be found here:
https://geotrickster.com/2021/11/08/t...

[Alli Ramsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up! I do wish I had access to a physical copy to see the maps he included, it might have helped me keep the people and their movement straight.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a somewhat interesting subject. Warren tells what ends up being a quite complex story, covering the place of the Shawnee among, and sometimes within, the other tribes. Making this a very complex story was that the Shawnee consisted of multiple tribes that migrated almost constantly, and this book covered those movements throughout hundreds of years. For instance, there are more than three “Shawneetowns” mentioned, so keeping track gets to be a chore. Also covered are other tribes and their interactions and their many wars and skirmishes. A few specific characters are part of the story – mostly governors, chiefs, and French traders who were key in the events. I found the complexity, which I think needs to be told, was detrimental from the story – this is not a casual read, but is reasonable for capturing this history. I found quite a bit of this book was repetitive, even noticing a repeated few sentences near the end.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good scholarly review of the Shawnees' migration around eastern and central North America, prior to 1800 anyway. Warren gives interesting theories about the nation's motivations and possible origins too.

[Deena]

To be reviewed at H-War.