Native American Adoption, Captivity, and Slavery in Changing Contexts - (Studies of the Americas) by M Carocci & S Pratt

About the Book

"Papers presented at the conference Adoption, Captivity and Slavery: Changing Meanings in Colonial North America that took place at the British Museum, in London on Feb 17th and 18th, 2008."

Book Synopsis

Radically rethinks the theoretical parameters through which we interpret both current and past ideas of captivity, adoption, and slavery among Native American societies in an interdisciplinary perspective. Highlights the importance of the interaction between perceptions, representations and lived experience associated with the facts of slavery.

Review Quotes

'This rich and challenging volume offers important new perspectives on the history of Native American enslavement in both indigenous and colonial settings. With scholarship ranging across most of North America and spanning several centuries, the authors-all established authorities in their fields-demonstrate the diversity of slavery in the Americas and the centrality of Native enslavement to early modern colonialism. This is essential reading, not only for students of Native American history, but also for anyone interested in the history and anthropology of slavery.' - Brett Rushforth, author of Bonds of Alliance: Indigenous and Atlantic Slaveries in New France

'Challenging the simplistic and often culturally biased literature on this topic, the authors analyze written and visual documents as expressions of complex encounters First Nations people experienced with other tribes, with the various colonial nations with whom they sometimes warred and sometimes formed alliances, and, notably, with African slaves. After finishing Native American Adoption, Captivity, and Slavery in Changing Contexts I felt immensely satisfied with all I had learned. This is a wonderful book and I enthusiastically recommend it.' - Aldona Jonaitis, director emerita, University of Alaska Museum of the North

'Bringing together perspectives from archeology, ethnohistory, art history, literary studies, and religious studies, this volume contributes substantially to our knowledge of the significance of slavery, captivity, and adoption in Native North America, in both indigenous and colonial contexts.' - Pauline Turner Strong, author of Captive Selves, Captivating Others: The Politics and Poetics of Colonial American Captivity Narratives

About the Author

MAX CAROCCI Research Fellow in the Centre for Anthropology at the British Museum, UK.
STEPHANIE PRATT Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Plymouth, UK.