Southeastern Indians

Catalog description

This course is an ethnographic and historic survey of southern Indians from European contact through the era of Removal. Particular emphasis will be placed on the following subjects: the decline of chiefdom societies across the South, the Spanish mission system, the development of the deerskin and Indian slave trade, native resistance to colonial encroachment, and a detailed discussion of Removal. The course also includes ethnographic descriptions of major southern Indian groups, including the Creek, Cherokee, Catawba, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Apalachee, and Natchez. By the end of the course students should acquire an understanding of a little known aspect of our country's heritage, be able to distinguish between the various colonial strategies at play in the region, as well as the various forms of native resistance, and gain an appreciation for the place of southern Indians within U.S. society today.