Mixed Blood Indians: Racial Construction in the Early South

154 Pages·2005·1.063 MB·English

by  Theda Perdue

“Mixed Blood” Indians
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THEDA PERDUE
‘‘Mixed Blood’’ Indians
Racial Construction
inthe Early South
(cid:1)
MercerUniversityLamarMemorialLecturesNo.45
TheUniversityofGeorgiaPress AthensandLondon
University of Georgia Press paperback edition, 2005
© 2003 by the University of Georgia Press
Athens, Georgia 30602
All rights reserved
Set in Berthold Baskerville by BookComp, Inc.
Printed and bound by Thomson-Shore
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence
and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for
Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Printed in the United States of America
05 06 07 08 09 P 5 4 3 2 1
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition
of this book as follows:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Perdue, Theda, 1949–
“Mixed blood” Indians: racial construction in the
early South / Theda Perdue.
p. cm. — (Mercer University Lamar memorial lectures ; no. 45)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8203-2453-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Indians of North America—Mixed descent—Southern States.
2. Indians of North America—Cultural assimilation—Southern
States. 3. Race awareness—Southern States. I. Title. II. Series.
E78.S65 P46 2002
975'.00497—dc21 2002007121
ISBN 0-8203-2731-X (pbk. : alk. paper)
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ForGeorgeTindall
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Contents
Preface
ix
ONE
“IntheIndianManner”:NativesandNewcomers
intheEighteenthCentury
1
TWO
“BothWhiteandRed”:BiracialPeopleinIndianSociety
33
THREE
“DesigningHalf-Breeds”:ThePoliticsofRace
70
Notes
105
Index
129
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Preface
In1971IwasalawstudentatMercerUniversity.Ifoundtherepet-
itive nature of legal training to be mind dulling, so I decided to
attendtheLamarLecturesdeliveredbyGeorgeTindalloftheUni-
versityofNorthCarolina.PublishedthefollowingyearasTheDis-
ruptionoftheSolidSouth(Athens:UniversityofGeorgiaPress,1972),
Tindall’s lectures focused on the role of race in southern politics.
Forthefirsttimeinmylife,Iheardsomeonediscussraceacademi-
cally,notasafactoflife,butasasocialconstructthatservedspecific
economic and political purposes. I suddenly became aware that
race had a history and that its history had a great deal to do with
thepastandpresentSouth.AsIlistenedtothelectures,Idecided
thatIdidnotwanttobealawyer;IwantedtobeGeorgeTindall.I
promptlyquitlawschoolandappliedtograduateschoolinhistory.
WhilemyresearchhastakenmeintoNativeAmericanhistory,the
topicTindallbroachedcontinuestohaverelevanceforme.Inthese
lectures,IexploreraceinaverydifferentwaythanTindalldid,but
hesetmeonthiscourse.
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, many Euro-
peansmarriedNativewomenandhadchildrenwhomwhitescalled
“half-breeds,”awordnowconsideredracistandderogatoryandre-
placedbythepresumablylessoffensiveterms“mixedblood,”“mes-
tizo,”or“métis.”ThelargenumberofpeopleofEuropeanancestry
ix