The Chiefs Now in This City
In contrast to many popular and some academic histories that portray Indians retreating as cities grow in North America, this book recovers the forgotten stories of the many Indian people who traveled, primarily on diplomatic business, to the cities of colonial America and the early Republic—what they did there, how they were viewed, and what they made of it all. Violent resistance was just one of many responses to colonialism; in this book, Indian people who visit colonial cities for negotiations also go out on the town. They see the sights, sit down to dinner, attend church, go to the theater, and offer critiques of urban life. The are also “onstage” themselves, and conscious of the roles they perform as they pursue their own agendas and represent tribal interests in centers of colonial power.