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Lost Homeland, The Methow Tribe and the Columbia Reservation
287 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2017
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July 9, 2019
"Lost Homeland" is a thoroughly researched and meticulously documented narrative of how the Methow Tribe lost its homeland through treaties with other tribes that claimed to represent the Methow but in fact did not. Chief Moses comes off especially bad in this telling.
The author, E Richard Hart, has testified as an expert witness for Native American tribes in different court cases and has written many scholarly articles. His expertise and passion are shown in this book. However, while his expertise and historical analysis may be especially helpful in court cases trying to enforce treaty rights in current court cases it can lead to shortcomings in a broad historical narrative. The United States in the 1800s was going to take what it wanted; it didn't honor the treaties it signed, it used force and bribery to obtain one sided treaties in the first place. While Native Americans like Chief Moses sold out the Methow, and often personally profited from it, their tribes fared little better than the Methow
An interesting tangent is that like so many narratives, many in the military tried to do the right thing. Many tried to enforce the tribal treaty rights and attempted to keep white settlers, miners, traders from encroaching on tribal lands, many fought against the corruption of some Indian agents. This well meaning efforts were repeatedly undercut by the lack of political will in Washington D.C.
The author, E Richard Hart, has testified as an expert witness for Native American tribes in different court cases and has written many scholarly articles. His expertise and passion are shown in this book. However, while his expertise and historical analysis may be especially helpful in court cases trying to enforce treaty rights in current court cases it can lead to shortcomings in a broad historical narrative. The United States in the 1800s was going to take what it wanted; it didn't honor the treaties it signed, it used force and bribery to obtain one sided treaties in the first place. While Native Americans like Chief Moses sold out the Methow, and often personally profited from it, their tribes fared little better than the Methow
An interesting tangent is that like so many narratives, many in the military tried to do the right thing. Many tried to enforce the tribal treaty rights and attempted to keep white settlers, miners, traders from encroaching on tribal lands, many fought against the corruption of some Indian agents. This well meaning efforts were repeatedly undercut by the lack of political will in Washington D.C.
Displaying 1 of 1 review