Florence Indian Mound Museum Book Reviews
You can find these books and more in our gift shop!
The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race"
By: Jason Colavito
Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press (2020)
Early American writers, historians, politicians, and scientists helped to promote a belief that Native Americans did not build the mounds, monuments, and earthworks that populate the eastern United States. While the history of these mounds (such as the Florence Indian Mound, built by Native Americans nearly 1,700 years ago) is now well-established, early writers claimed that a distinct race of “mound builders” created these mounds because they did not believe that Native Americans could have built them. The dehumanization of Native Americans was used as a justification for Removal. Jason Colavito explores the wild theories (many of which are unfortunately still around) that distort our understanding of the people who built these colossal landscapes.
Chickasaw Removal
By: Amanda L. Price; Fuller L. Bumpers; Daniel F. Littlefield Jr.
Ada, OK: Chickasaw Press, (2010)
The Chickasaw lived and hunted on the land that is now northwest Alabama for thousands of years before they removed to what is now Oklahoma, beginning in 1837. The story of their removal to Oklahoma is told in this meticulously researched and well-organized manuscript. This book is important because it chronicles the hardships faced by the Chickasaw both on their journey to Oklahoma and after they arrived in their new home. Chickasaw Removal challenges readers to go beyond Trail of Tears and removal stories to the realities faced by indigenous people upon arriving in their new homes.
The Southeastern Indians
By: Charles Hudson
Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press (1976)
This text provides rich sources for understanding the southeastern peoples. Sections that focus on belief systems, social organization, subsistence patterns, and ceremonies, are especially helpful.
Foraging in the Tennessee River Valley: 12,500 to 8,000 Years Ago
By: Kandace Hollenbach
Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press (2009)
This manuscript summarizes plant foods, landscapes, origins, and distributions based on four regional archaeological sites studies. It is a very thorough study of the valley as the first humans experienced it.