People of the Ecotone: Environment and Indigenous Power at the Center of Early America

In People of the Ecotone, Robert Morrissey explores the roots of the Fox Wars and the environmental history of the former tallgrass prairies in North America, offering new insight into Indigenous power and logic.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 294 pages
Publication date: 25 October 2022
Publisher: University of Washington Press

In his captivating book, "People of the Ecotone," Robert Morrissey skillfully weaves together a rich tapestry of Native American history and the history of an ecotone, offering a fresh perspective on the origins of the Fox Wars, one of the most transformative and enigmatic events in early American history. By delving into the first comprehensive environmental history of the formerly vast tallgrass prairies in North America before their transformation into the monocultural "corn belt" we know today, Morrissey sheds light on the intricate rise and fall of the Illinois, Meskwaki, and Myaamia peoples from the collapse of Cahokia in the thirteenth to fourteenth century CE to the mid-eighteenth century.

Morrissey contextualizes the complex trajectory of these peoples within the backdrop of millennia-long environmental shifts, as changes in climate altered the distribution of bison and prompted tribes to adapt their cultures to become skilled pedestrian bison hunters. Through a meticulous tracing of dynamic chains of causation, ranging from microscopic viruses to colossal forces of climate, from the deep time of evolution to the specific events of human lifetimes, from local Illinois village economies to market forces spanning oceans, "People of the Ecotone" provides a profound and insightful exploration of Indigenous power and Indigenous logics.

This captivating work offers a fresh lens through which to understand the intricate interplay between human societies, the environment, and the forces that shape history, shedding light on the enduring legacies and resilience of Indigenous communities. By delving into the rich tapestry of Native American history and the environmental transformations that have shaped their lives, Morrissey provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the complex and multifaceted history of the Americas.

Weight: 438g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780295750880