Walter Echo-Hawk does a great job of making a very clear, understandable, and interesting writing style in his book. There were numerous things I enjoyed about this novel; the relation to Indian tribes, the descriptions of how Indians fought against bad court decisions, the history of certain tribes and why subjects of a given case were important to them, and the overall feel that the book was written from an Indian’s perspective.
This book, more-so than the other two, gave very detailed accounts of events leading up to Supreme Court cases. An instance of this is when Echo-Hawk, in chapter 5 of his book, went into the Cherokee v Georgia case with Chief Justice John Marshall. Instead of simply giving the decision and results, Echo-Hawk backtracks and explains the situation the Cherokee found themselves in, as well as even more backtracking to break-down how the incoming settlers forced the Cherokee Nation into that predicament. The background of this case is similar to the descriptions of the histories of other cases. In the Supreme Court decision on the Peyote Road and whether or not Peyote would be legalized under any circumstances, Echo-Hawk refers back to the long history of Peyote in Indian religion and how different people from different tribes felt about Peyote becoming illegal. I feel that this extra information and background stories makes the reading more captivating. This style of writing also makes the cases and people involved feel much more real; and even can create an emotional attachment or reaction.
As I stated in the opening paragraph, the feel that this book is written from an Indian’s perspective played a very important role in how “real” it felt (“real” meaning from the perspective of the oppressed and not from the side of the oppressors or those unaffected directly by the oppression). The reasons this was important were because it created an interest in the stories Echo-Hawk told and gave a sense of credibility. By having a Native American author, I was more intrigued to hear his side of the story and see how he, as well as other Indians he mentions, felt during trials and during both successes and defeats. If the book was written by a white man or a member of the Supreme Court, not only would the book seem far less credible off-the-bat, but the way the reader would digest the story would be similar to looking into a glass bubble, instead of actually living the experiences.
One part of the book I liked the most was the section regarding the Wana the Bear v Community Construction case. The reason I found this section so enjoyable is because Echo-Hawk both described the legal and court proceedings, as well as the spiritual and traditional beliefs of the Indian tribes involved. Around the middle of the chapter, Echo-Hawk begins talking about the spiritual side of taking the dead from their burial places. This not only is a very fascinating read, but it really brings home the idea that these are real people with real families and beliefs, and not just numbers in a history book. From page 261-271, Echo-Hawk also does a great job of directly addressing the common reasons given by archaeologists and scientists alike for exhuming and studying Indian corpses. This important section pokes holes in every theory or reason archaeologists give, which is great for anyone trying to defend or ally with Indians against the taking of their dead. Echo-Hawk continues this great style of informative writing in chapter thirteen, regarding the Tee-Hit-Ton v United States case. Specifically from pages 364-374, there is a very detailed explanation of the Tee-Hit-Ton belief system (as it relates to nature) and how it differs from the common Western view of nature. Again, this was thought-provoking and impressive. Personally, many aspects of various Native American beliefs regarding nature and spirituality fascinate me and reading about them while learning about the court cases that inhibited these spiritual belief systems is why this book was a very fun and stimulating read for me.
Truly the only con or downside I could find with this book was that, being written from the Indian perspective, it did seem to be a little biased and favored toward the Indians in each case. Normally this would be an issue in a book about factual events and legal doctrines, but to be honest, I enjoyed it. As someone on the side of the Native Americans, it was refreshing to read something about these cases that took the Indians’ side for once. Sometimes, when the laws were so unfair or the rulings were so unbelievably biased in favor of the Euro-Americans invading, having the book written from the Native Americans’ side made the information easier to swallow.
In the grand scheme of Native American tribes interacting with European invaders in America and how the courts treated the tribes, I felt the choices Walter Echo-Hawk made (as far as which cases to choose for the top 10 worst) were sound decisions. These cases he reviews and dissects had huge impacts; sometimes on single tribes or tribes within a small area, and sometimes on all Indians living in the United States. There is an underlying theme with these cases and the situations they created. It becomes clear the more one reads this book that the U.S. government, specifically the judicial branch, was completely opposed to working with and compromising with the Indians already living here. The courts and justices seemed to only want to assimilate or annihilate the Native Americans and did everything they could to make things easier for the incoming Europeans to move-in and take the land. Aside from Echo-Hawk’s style, the book was incredibly informative. Prior to reading this book, I had never even heard of 8 out of the 10 cases reviewed. Having this information now helps me figure out what I want to focus on for future studies and provides me with insight into an area of history I previously never learned about.