The broken hoop;: The history of Native Americans from 1600 to 1890, from the Atlantic coast to the Plains

by Dan Georgakas

native americans, atlantic coast, plains

Genres: History

116 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1973

Reviews

[Autumn Bigglesworth]

Like its counterpart, Red Shadows, which deals primarily with the West Coast and Southwestern tribes of Native Americans, it is somewhat dated (1973) but is a good (and short, 100 or so pages) entry level primer into the general history of the various tribes and their later contact with white settlers and the eventual campaigns and genocidal wars for their land.

Parts which stick out in this book were the history of the Seminole and the Seminole Wars, and then the Dakota/Lakota (or Sioux as they were referred to at the time). These felt the most comprehensive of the sections, and very fascinating. One thing I did notice with this book was there wasn't much distinction between periods or a clear timeline, few dates are given between events which at times makes the timeline hard to follow. Another issue is the lack of differentiation between certain titled chiefs, such as the Prophet of the Seminole during the Second Seminole war. In the age of internet and search engine, I tried to find which Prophet Georgakas was referring to and found a Prophet Hillis Hadjo -- who was killed 20 years before the Second Seminole War. There is another Prophet I found after researching further, a black Seminole named Abraham, who would have been placed more in line with the timeline Georgakas suggests, but there's not even a lot of information about Prophet Abraham today. There were several other inconsistencies I found when compared to modern sources. I do not necessarily think this is due to a lack of research on Georgakas' part-- but it does dampen my enjoyment of this book in comparison to that of Red Shadows, which also suffered from the same vague timelines but felt a little more comprehensive. I think historical books do need more citations, as that provides a helpful paper trail especially when readers wish to further engage with the subject.
Nonetheless, definitely worth the read despite my giving 3 stars.

[Jychelle]

Native Americans are what I believe is the most altered part of history that a lot of people are unaware of the untold actual truth of how they were taken over, forced from their homes, told they were savage and had to believe in god or be slaughtered.

[Julie]

everyone needs to read this book. gives histories of many indigenous American peoples, and how many became extinct. powerful, disturbing read.