This brief section emphasizes the importance of migration in understandings of landscape under conditions of colonialism. By relying on the notion of positionality, the author explains why this topic is of personal as well as professional interest. The introduction and work as a whole reflect a historical perspective that emphasizes the concrete daily lives of Native Americans during the colonial era as conveyed through the landscape. The structural unfolding of colonialism, mercantilism, and capitalism serve as a backdrop to small-scale histories ranging from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean, which fail to come together as a tidy, linear history. It was one where the larger ambitions of colonial powers were leveraged, countered, and thwarted not only by Native Americans, but by the very colonial representatives who were meant to carry them out. The introduction also defines some key terms used in the book and clarifies why certain case studies were used and others excluded.
