Creek Mary's Blood

by Dee Brown

Proud and beautiful Creek Mary dominates a saga that spans the years from the American Revolution to the pre-World War I era and portrays such characters as Tecumseh, Andrew Jackson, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Teddy Roosevelt

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Native American, Historical, Westerns, Native Americans, 19th Century

481 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

AKA: Dee Alexander Brown

Dorris Alexander “Dee” Brown (1908–2002) was a celebrated author of both fiction and nonfiction, whose classic study Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is widely credited with exposing the systematic destruction of American Indian tribes to a world audience.

Brown was born in Louisiana and grew up in Arkansas. He worked as a reporter and a printer before enrolling at Arkansas State Teachers College, where he met his future wife, Sally Stroud. He later earned two degrees in library science, and worked as a librarian while beginning his career as a writer. He went on to research and write more than thirty books, often centered on frontier history or overlooked moments of the Civil War. Brown continued writing until his death in 2002.

Reviews

[Gaile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decades before Hitler over ran Europe, The United States systematically set out to destroy the Native American Nations.This novel is rich in history. Long before the Trail Of Tears, Creek Mary was speaking out for her people not to give another inch of their land but her people were deported to Oklahoma anyway. The story winds on as the main characters continually pick themselves up from disaster and go on.They find freedom on the plains, plenty of buffalo and antelope all too soon to have it ripped from when the California gold rush sends the whites into the northern Indian hunting grounds. Gold is discovered in Colorado. More white men appear, "Pike's Peak or Bust!" Treaties are signed and broken. Indians herded onto reservations find they are starving and they run away to join Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Back Kettle, Man Afraid Of His Horses. In Montana, The Dakotas and Minnesota the Indian tribes find their hunting grounds intact and then gold is discovered in the Black Hills. Sacred to the Native Americans, the Paha Sapa is not for sale so the white government decides to take it by force and here comes the Battle Of Little Bighorn.Dane, the main character lives through it all, sees children and grandchildren born, sees many killed for the sake of the white man's gold. While the free Indians are chased from place to place by white soldiers and given no chance to hunt, the Iron Horse makes it's sudden appearance.
A story so sad that I ended up in tears by the time I finished.This reminded me of the genocide of the Jews.
Against this rich historical background, the main characters interact with each other and try to live out their lives.
In 1833, a French ancestor of mine brought his half breed son out of a Blackfoot tribe into Quebec looking for a wet nurse. Later he ended up buying up land in Vermont. Had he stayed with the Indians, history might have been changed for all of us descendants as the boy would have been raised among the Blackfoot.
I am proud to call myself truly American and not surprised that the Native American prophesy "The Earth Shall Weep," is now coming true.

[E Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book as a history book. Although it is a novel, the
historical information seemed accurate and was very informative. Also,
the insight into the customs and beliefs of the Indians was interesting.It was hard to read about the tremendous injustices,
the horrible violence and the bigotry that our government used
in our treatment of the Native Americans.

As a novel, I didn't enjoy the book as much. The characters never
became real people to me. I had empathy with them as American
Indians because of all the terrible things happening to them, but
I didn't have empathy with them as a person with whom I had made
a connection.

[Robert Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't know Dee Brown wrote fiction? Well, he did, and not bad fiction, either. Creek Mary's Blood, as the title suggests, is about Native Americans--in this case a saga in which the family linage of the title character,Creek Mary, is traced. I'll admit that I was drawn to this one only because of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, but once I opened it and began to read I was happy to have found it.

[Kiessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This out-of-print book left an impression on my heart and mind when I read it years ago. The personal and brutal story of Native American tribes driven to reservations is a must-read. It is worth tracking down, and I only wish I still had a copy of my very own.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the first novels I ever read. My dad had an old copy in our basement in Chicago and the title intrigued me. A very good read.

[Fred Goldboss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is marvelous portrayal of one of the greatest tragedies of all time. The Native Americans had a great way of life
and the White Man stole it from them. They were lied to, stolen from, and mistreated by the American army and the White
politicians. If they were given anything of value, it was promptly taken back. This story tells of the Native American being re-
settled in the Oklahoma Territory and having to walk there from The Carolina's. Of course, most of them died. When oil was
discovered, the White Men wanted the land back.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book about four generations of an American Indian family.

[Michelle Jerry-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. At some points it was absolutely heartbreaking. What a horrible things are nation did to the native Americans.

[Amanda King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this title in early middle school. It was a book i chose randomly from the adult section of the library because I wanted to read something "big." When I checked the book out, the librarian tried to persuade me to make a different selection. I think I was a bit young for some of the books themes, but it sparked an interest for me to learn more about native american history and my own native american roots. It made me question some of what I learned in elementary school and started a love for dense chapter books. I just recently purchased this as an adult to re-read. I hope it is as good as I remember.

[Trisha Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent tale based on historical facts, of four generations of Native American (Cherokee) family of "Creek Mary". Characters include, Tecumseh, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Red Cloud, and Crazy Horse. Story is told in remembrances to a newspaper reporter, by Dane, the only relative left of Creek Mary's family. It is a story of Native Americans content to live on their own land, versus the inexhaustible greed and avarice of white settlers. A "keeper". Highly recommended.

[Lawrence Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Historical Fiction

Great factual details woven into the story of wise, determined and strong woman. Narrated in first person by her heir. Recommended to see the native American indomitable spirit and point of view.

[Carmen Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book - I have a read it a billion times.

[Kallan Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly moving story.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A genocide took place in the US. For centuries, Native Americans have been systemically oppressed, dispossessed and killed for land, for greed and for power by the Veheos (the white men). Every treaty drawn by the American government was violated, vilifying, pushing out and killing Native Americans. This part of history, which remains untold in mainstream academia, is an American legacy so well-written in the form of historical fiction by Dee Brown. Creek Mary's Blood is the rich, inspiring and heart-wrenching story of Creek Mary and her descendants; a story of resistance, fight, oppression, betrayal, identity, love, life and death. I really appreciate the perspective from which the story is told and the connections made between different historical times through characters. We have a lot to learn from Native American Nations, especially if we want to save Mother Earth. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in history.

[Beverley Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spell-binding and horrifying at the same time. Basically it is the story of the systematic decimation of the Indigenous peoples in the USA. It provoked a lot of anger in me and at the same time made me very conscious that here in Canada we have not been better. The saddest part is the realization that things haven't really changed. Some parts are truly difficult to read and some are extremely sad.
The story is told by an elderly survivor who is being interviewed by a journalist who was researching the life of Creek Mary.

[Jeri Stofa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

This book gave such a vivid picture of the way the Federal Government treated the Native Americans. It showed how a proud people went through such horrific treatment from a nation that was a true invader in their land

[Kristen Suagee-beauduy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The following are excerpts from my book club's fb timeline:

about page 200 I started wanting to keep reading Creek Mary's Blood. Maybe because more female characters started taking up space. But the sexism is still polluting the historical record. When Brown describes the medicine woman as a pony no man had yet broken, I had to put the book down for a minute. And again when Dane purported to know Jerusha's emotional strength: "I believe Jerusha's feelings went beyond the limits of the heart . . . . To survive, the weak must feed on the hearts of the strong." Aren't those two sentiments conflicted? Dane's character obviously hasn't realized that Cherokees become Cherokee though cultural practice, not blood. These ideas about blood came from the United States government as they were taking and giving rights to Native peoples after contact. If Creek Mary really were traditional, she would know that if Jerusha wanted her blessing as Dane's wife that she would have to assimilate to Cherokee ways and teach her children to the same. P.S. It pissed me off when Brown talks about a "heap" of buffalo hides. As if the stereotypical Western movie narrative about Natives only speaking pigeon English had taken over his diction: "big heap 'em." Come on.

it's one man's attempt at historical fiction. he doesn't do it as well as say, Robert J. Conley and others, but I'm 10 pages to the end and don't regret the Cherokee and Native history refreshment via fiction. i can see why my historian uncle liked it--it's better than most historical accounts of the same events, but it's been done better, and we could do it better. it's always interesting to me to read books that were influential to the people i admire in my life.

he definitely didn't copy-edit it for flow or character development--so many horrible transitions (or lack thereof) between moments in time and events. And, in trying to depict and navigate historically-accurate plot points in the order he did, an unnecessary stylistic choice that knocked me out of the narrative were his switches between the colloquial/vernacular speech of most of the characters and a more academic vocabulary. This strategy made me feel like he was writing the book to impress people on some level. Also, by substituting the Cherokee Beloved Woman Mary Ward with Creek Mary in some of the historical moments of the text, it kind of robs Cherokee women of a more historically authentic role model. This is an interesting move considering that Creeks and Cherokees have been enemies/rivals/competitors/tense neighbors forever. Perhaps this hybridity was a way for Brown to point out the social construction of ethnicity and the absurd way in which humans revert back to mob mentality under pressure or out of habit. Or maybe Brown was drawing attention to the ways in which some contemporary Native Americans can be militant about what is authentic/traditional/full-blood, etc.--maybe he was trying to write about a time period when Cherokees thought of community membership as a much more fluid way of being (instead of the more rigid and official/personal/community/state/county/federal systems of identity recognition that we have now). Also, as I'm reading now about Jerusha, I'm still rolling my eyes about the odd way in which sexuality and sex are presented. It feels somewhat sensationalized and somewhat sexist.

P. 46: Cherokee warriors scalp fallen enemies. Dee Brown doesn't mention that this practice was adopted by Indigenous folk after the French brought the practice with them. Brown spends time explaining other Creek and Cherokee customs. Now I feel like researching the book and its author--is Brown a southeastern Native? Did he "have to" write about sexy Native women and savage Native men to get the book published in 1980? If he wrote this book today, would he have toned down some of his stereotypical language because contemporary audiences value greatee authenticity? How accurate is the historical framework of the text? It seems accurate so far. Well, except for the "savage blood ceremony" on p. 44.

i feel obligated to finish the book. 1) i suggested it for the reading circle, 2) it's one of 5 books my mother's brother told me to read (which, in Cherokee culture, means my dad told me 5 books of needed to read of Native lit and this was one, 3) my boss, a Cherokee matriarch, said she LOVES this book 4) it would be nice to talk to my uncle and my boss about why they think this book is SO good and then to speak with young women of my generation about it's shortcomings, if that's the energy we want to put into a "meh" book.

Page 37: "My loins are burning." Really? After random and numerous references to womens' breasts, I'm officially not into "Creek Mary's Blood."

[R.G. Ziemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creek Mary’s Blood by Dee Brown is something I picked up used some years back, and it’s been sitting on the shelf waiting for just the right moment. I’m not sure why I decided to read it last month, but I quickly realized it fit right in with all the reading I’ve been doing about the Southeast.
The character of Creek Mary seems to be based on a historical figure who is interesting in her own right. The Creek woman wielded some power among her own people and also dealt with the Oglethorpe and the English colonials who had settled in Savannah, Georgia. Other historical figures such as Andrew Jackson also play their roles on this stage.
Like the historic Mary, Brown’s central character first marries an English trader and raises a family of mixed-blood sons. Inevitably, conditions grow worse for Creek Mary’s blood, however, as more whites encroach on Indian land. When revolutionary winds blow through the South, the tribes are divided, with some backing the Americans and others trusting their fate to the English. Disillusioned, Mary leaves the Englishman and moves to a Cherokee village, where she remarries and raises a new Indian family. It is her full-blood Indian son Dane who tells the rest of the tale. Of course they are all doomed to some extent – the Cherokees are forced onto the Trail of Tears and wind up in Oklahoma “Indian Territory”. One thing I learned from the book was that the Cherokees and others actually crossed the Ohio and traveled through Southern Illinois during the brutal winter of their removal West. In their new land, they are again divided as some try to adopt the ways of white society and others seek to live traditional lives. I hadn’t previously been aware of the vicious fighting that went on between the groups, but it affected all of those people who had already suffered under the genocidal policies of the whites.
Mary’s son Dane is able to straddle the two worlds, but he chooses against the settled life. Circumstances bring him to marry a Cheyenne woman and they and their children carry the story out onto the high plains. Brown brings in more historical figures, such as the trader Charles Bent and his mixed-blood family, and well-known native heroes Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.
Any story delving into this painful history is for me difficult to stomach. But Dane is a great character for his resilient good nature. And at the last there is some brightness in the story, as Creek Mary’s bloodline survives and finds vindication.

[Joe Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are all Savages

4*5 stars - Dee Brown wrote the seminal "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7... a searing history of the destruction of the Native Americans during the 19th century. This is an excellent fictionalized telling of the story.

A nice literary device allows for a single conversation to tell the tale through the titular Creek Mary's grandson Dane. We are first told of her notable youth and life, then through his 80+ years. This takes us from dealings and trouble with the British in the 1700s, through wars of the local, independence and civil varieties, a thousand broken promises and treaties, constant land grabs, massacres and horrors right through to Teddy Roosevelt at the dawn of the 1900's (!). There is a wonderful undercurrent of changing technology through this time too, horses and illiterate people to the pony express, then railways and telegrams.

The story is gripping, the action well done, the pain and horror brilliantly rendered. This more than makes up for the writing not quite being literary level, or the odd one dimensional character - the venal Colonel Belcourt could have been several people as opposed to a recurring one for instance.

In general I was impressed by the complexity of the characters, early on the Long Warrior ponders the meaning of savagery with Mary after a white child is murdered "down beneath the skin, no matter the colour, down there we are all fierce, cruel, bloodthirsty as the beasts, it is part of the balance of nature". Though, the savagery becomes increasingly one sided.

There are good times too, somewhat idyllic visions of Native American life outside the white man's world. These come early on before the Native tribes are forced off their land in the east, and later on the plains with the buffalo herds. The destruction of this way of life through the elimination of the buffalo is emblematic of the cruelty, waste, and cynical nature of this slow genocide.

I recently read "Fifth Sun; a new history of the Aztecs" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
and it was illuminating how this, also horrific European takeover, differed to the Northern one. The Spanish established themselves as hegemon, as extractors at the top in an established system. Further North it was removal of the original inhabitants, by any and all means, slowly but steadily, and full replacement with new peoples and new systems. They were 'in the way' and explicitly excluded from political representation - a terrible crime that greenlit the more violent ones that followed.

Another parallel is the great detail on the messy situation once contact is made, it's never as simple as them and us, with native populations having huge differences between and within themselves. Interactions, alliances and cross race marriages are common. It's a cultural pastiche and partnership, especially early on. Later less so, with devastating consequences. Some of the psychological impacts of this are explored in Pleasant's sad story here, and put forward as believable motives for Malintzin/Malinche, Cortez's essential local translator in the "Fifth Sun".

It is hard to feel anything but horror and burning injustice at the fate of the Native American tribes. "The only thing your people ever gave mine - pain, desolation and death". I have met several Native Americans during my travels in America, always lovely people. I heard a wonderful redemption story told by the excellent Stanislav Grof on the Tim Ferris podcast. Invited to a Native peyote session, one Indian was angry with the white guests for the above reasons and refused to communicate with them. Towards the end the leaders thanked the outsiders for coming, especially Stanislav who had came from Czechoslovakia. The Angry man broke down and begged forgiveness. He assumed they were all American. He had been drafted during WW2, and he was on a plane that bombed the Czech town where Stanislav lived just before the end of the war. He had been drawn into horror by powers outside of his control.

This shows how normal people are sucked into wars, they often don't choose, or don't understand what their choice means. So many native Americans took part in all the wars, on all sides, including the 'Indian wars' with Crow's scouting for Custer at Little Bighorn for instance. So many Irish fought in the American civil war, again on both sides, many of these then again against the tribes too. A story told in the excellent "Days without End" https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..." by Sebastian Barry. Pawns in the brutal games of the powerful. Twigs standing before the hurricane of progress. We are all savages now.

I say this believing in the power, necessity and good arc of historical progress. At times I can only squint my eyes, it came at such a human cost. It did not have to be so painful. Linking a to a wider story, the destruction of nature does not need to be so brutal today (The Overstory by Richard Powers https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). Lessons can still be learned and actions still can be changed. But we are all savages now.

A section in the final few pages has a hopeful tone, with Dane's granddaughter, who we are teased with sporadically throughout the book finally shows up. She is portrayed as a true American, a wise and determined young doctor, with the blood of many tribes, speckled with touches of European flowing through her. I'm not sure we can say even today that this ideal is rendered true, at least, not often. Whilst things have improved no doubt, the Native American population continue to suffer disproportionately the ills of modern society, and continue to face injustice at the hands of the US government.

The government, deservedly, gets it in the neck. The words published in 1980 are even more pertinent today. Maybe this highlights a true rotten core in Washington that has always been there. Depressing if so. Washington D.C . is framed as a den of vice and lies, something apart from what is was designed to be, staffed with "Scoundrels, thieves, liars, betrayers of those who gave them power".

Amen.

[Polly Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and Frustrating

This novel depicts the troubles, sadness and frustrations of the plight of Native Americans as their land stolen from them by white men. It is sickening to think about how so many women,children and elderly were brutalized and forced to live in horrible conditions...Many starving to death as they were forced off their land and corralled into small reservations with the promise of freedom and plenty of food and supplies by the government that never materialized. The white men were greedy and ruthless in their treatment of these mostly gentle people who made this land their home way before the white men came to rape the land of its natural resources. Resources that the Native American people respected and utilized to the fullest and not wasting anything. Every part of the animals they killed were used for food, clothing, utensils, etc. One has to wonder how our country would look and how different we, as Americans utilize our natural resources if the Native American people were allowed to remain on their land,undisturbed. I have a hunch that they could've taught us a great deal on how to preserve our natural resources instead of exploiting them out of greed or for sport.

[Rhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe fiction can be true without being entirely factual, and Dee Brown is a well respected historical writer who I think achieved this state. He always tried to make his fiction true, accurate, and non-racist. Because I knew that, I trusted this book. When he described customs and events I didn't know, I believed them. When he added details about things I knew but only in general, in addition to trusting them I felt grateful for his gifts of added depth. Reading books like this is an easy way to learn more about the past -- even though getting my history this way won't qualify me for an academic post, if the writers are respected by "real" historians, I legitimately feel more knowledgeable.

Brown's prose is highly competent, including many diverse and vividly drawn characters -- individuals from Cherokee, Creek, Cheyenne, Sioux, and other tribes and sub-tribes, as well as white and mixed race individuals. Creek Mary's Blood a good long tale of several generations during the tragic and horrible period when our government systematically killed, brutalized, and imprisoned native peoples, lied and made false promises to the survivors, and ruined much of their land while stealing all the good parts.

[Nora Peevy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anybody that is a lover of history, especially leading up to The Ghost Dance movement and the beginning of the end of the Native American way of life before The Civil War even started will want to read this sweeping chronicle of a family of five generations and the death of their culture at the hands of the dishonest and greedy and arrogant white government in Washington. This book makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it makes you believe in the resolve of a people to never lose their culture or have their humanity stripped from them. It's a story of life, death, survival, and new beginnings. And it's the true saga of the Native American Nations that once owned all of this great country we whites call The United States of America. This book is the crowning achievement of the meticulous documented early American history in Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. And I firmly believe it should be required high school reading for all students.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am interested in books that have a historical context to it, especially when focusing on cultures that i may not be extremely familiar with.

creek mary's blood follows a woman - mary - from the creek indian tribe from her childhood to old age. it not only shows the traditions of the different tribes, but also the fight between the tribes and the white man.

the book started off a bit slow, but ended up being a really enjoyable read.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was very anti-American. It shows that the Indians were not all war mongering as depicted in various characterizations be it , film, westerns. etc. They were human as everyone else. At times it seemed like the author was trying ;to explain too much. I don't know if Dee Brown is American Indian or not, I did read his other book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, but that was ages ago.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am now in Kansas and our Indians and many other tribes got shoved over the reservations in Oklahoma. I went to Ponca City, Oklahoma to see a Pow Wow where many of the tribes were relocated to. It is so sad that this country felt the need to wipe out the tribes. This book focuses on a lady trying to preserve her land and family but she ended up in Oklahoma also.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Also the best excuse to listen to the Nightwish song of the same name.

[Amayi Esterl · Rating 5 out of 5]

My namesake book 💜

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though we know how things end for all of the American Indian tribes, this is still a good story. Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, is very knowledgable about the West, native peoples and the history of the United States. At times, especially in the early part of the book, it did seem as though the author was writing more from a nonfiction slant, but gradually you learn more about the main characters, begin to care about them and want to know how things work out for them. If you have any interest in early American history or native Americans, this book is highly recommended.

[Laree · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. The story is an important one, but I could not get into the author’s writing style. It was a narration, and the characters were very flat. More like this happened, then that happened, he said, she said. Too difficult to read that for 600+ pages.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good - a novel by the author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. It's hard to read even good novels about American Indians...we know how they're going to end.