White Captives: Gender and Ethnicity on the American Frontier

by June Namias

Overview

White Captives offers a new perspective of Indian-white coexistence on the American frontier through analysis of historical, anthropological, political, and literary materials. —>Namias shows that visual, literary, and historical accounts of the capture of Euro-Americans by Indians are commentaries on the uncertain boundaries of gender, race, and culture during the colonial Indian Wars, the American Revolution, and the Civil War. She compares the experiences and representations of male and female captives over time and on successive frontiers and examines the narratives of captives Jane McCrea, Mary Jemison, and Sarah Wakefield. American Historical Review "[A] skillfully written analysis.—Journal of American History "Namias is an enjoyable storyteller as well as a good historian. . . . To the dry and rigorous analysis of the ethnohistorian she adds warmth and empathy.—William and Mary Quarterly "This book brings us closer to understanding the role of gender and ethnicity in captivity narratives and in American society.—Journal of the West "White Captives is thoroughly researched, weighty, and worthy.—Journal of American Ethnic History "An impressively researched, imaginative, and powerful exploration of racial and gender boundaries in frontier America.—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 —>

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807876091
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	10/12/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

June Namias, associate professor of history at the University of Alaska Anchorage, is author of First Generation: In the Words of Twentieth-Century American Immigrants and editor of new editions of James E. Seaver's A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison and Sarah F. Wakefield's Six Weeks in the Sioux Tepees.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

An insightful and provocative study.—American Historical Review

[A] skillfully written analysis.—Journal of American History

Namias is an enjoyable storyteller as well as a good historian. . . . To the dry and rigorous analysis of the ethnohistorian she adds warmth and empathy.—William and Mary Quarterly

This book brings us closer to understanding the role of gender and ethnicity in captivity narratives and in American society.—Journal of the West

White Captives is thoroughly researched, weighty, and worthy.—Journal of American Ethnic History

An impressively researched, imaginative, and powerful exploration of racial and gender boundaries in frontier America.—Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812

Editorial Reviews

Namias's study is a carefully researched and scholarly account of the captivity experience in early America. Migration brought the European settlers and the Indians together in a variety of cross-cultural encounters. Namias (history, Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage) divides her study into two main parts: the first gives the reader an overview of the captivity experience from the viewpoint of both men and women and also includes a chapter on the sexual relationships between these groups. The second part is specific to the stories of three captives--Jane McCrea, Mary Jemison, and Sarah Wakefield. Namias explores the myths and realities in the relationship between the white settlers and the Native cultures. Her work will have great appeal to scholars and to readers with a keen interest in these aspects of American frontier history.-- Dorothy Lil ly, Grosse Pointe North H.S., Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.

Library Journal

Namias shows that visual, literary, and historical accounts of the capture of Euro-Americans (most often women and children) by Indians during the colonial Indian Wars, the American Revolution, and the Civil War are commentaries on the uncertain boundaries of gender, race, and culture on the frontier and in American society. Paper edition (unseen), $16.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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