Talking Back: Native Women and the Making of the Early South

Historian Alejandra Dubcovsky's book explores the lives of Native women in the early South, challenging the male-centered narrative and revealing their resilience and resistance. She reconstructs the lives of Timucua, Apalachee, Chacato, and Guale to show how they made claims to protect their livelihoods, bodies, and families.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 11 July 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

Historian Alejandra Dubcovsky delves into a groundbreaking exploration of Native women in the early South, shedding light on their remarkable journeys of power and defiance against authority. This captivating book makes a substantial contribution to our understanding of women during the so-called "forgotten centuries of European colonialism in the southeast." Malinda Maynor Lowery, the author of "The Lumbee Indians," praises it as an "artful, powerful book," highlighting its significant contribution to our knowledge of these women. Lisa Brooks, in her endorsement, describes it as a "remarkable book," applauding Dubcovsky's relentless research for uncovering the histories of previously unseen and unnamed women. Through her meticulous research, Dubcovsky reveals that these women had names, families, and lives that mattered, profoundly transforming the historical landscape.

Dubcovsky's narrative unfolds as she reconstructs the lives of Native women, including the Timucua, Apalachee, Chacato, and Guale, highlighting their unwavering resilience and resistance in the face of war, slavery, and loss. By delving into their stories, she challenges the established male-centered narrative of early American history. Through the tales of Native cacicas who demanded recognition of their authority, elite Spanish women who transformed their dowry and household into sources of independent power, Floridiana who boldly confronted a prominent Native man in the town square, and Black women who ran successful businesses at the heart of Spanish towns, Dubcovsky unveils the formidable women who claimed and wielded their power, shaping the history of the early South.

This captivating book offers a profound and empowering perspective on the lives of Native women in the colonial era, challenging our perceptions and illuminating the significant contributions they made to the region's history. It is a testament to the resilience and determination of these women, who defied societal expectations and forged their paths in a society that often sought to marginalize and control them. Through Dubcovsky's meticulous research and storytelling, "Women of the Early South" emerges as a valuable addition to the literature on women's history, shedding light on a previously overlooked chapter of American history.

Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300266122