Cherokee Thoughts, Honest and Uncensored

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University of Oklahoma Press, 2008 - History - 200 pages

Gaming and chiefing. Imposters and freedmen. Distinguished novelist Robert J. Conley examines some of the most interesting facets of the Cherokee world. In 26 essays laced with humor, understatement, even open sarcasm, this popular writer takes on politics, culture, his people's history, and what it means to be Cherokee.

Readers who think they know Conley will find an abundance of surprises in these pages. He reveals historical information not widely known or written about, such as Cherokee Confederate general Stand Watie's involvement in the infamous Reconstruction treaty forced upon his people in 1866, and he explains his admiration for such characters as Ned Christie and Henry Starr, whom some might consider criminals. From legendary figures Dragging Canoe and Nancy Ward to popular icons like Will Rogers to contemporary "Cherokee Wannabes"--people seeking ancestral roots whether actual or fanciful--Conley traces the dogged persistence of the Cherokee people in the face of relentless incursions upon their land and culture.

"Cherokees are used to controversy," observes Conley; "in fact, they enjoy it." As provocative as it is entertaining, Cherokee Thoughts will intrigue tribal members and anyone with an interest in the Cherokee people.

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Contents

Ricochet
15
Cherokee Wannabes
33
Cherokee Outlaws
49
Copyright

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About the author (2008)

Robert J. Conley was born in 1940 in Cushing Oklahoma. He is a Cherokee author and enrolled member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, a federally recognized tribe of American Indians. He is noted for depictions of precontact and historical Cherokee figures. He is known for a series of books called the Real People Series. The sixth of the series, The Dark Island (1996) won the Spur Award for best Western novel in 1995. He has also won two other Spur Awards, in 1988 for the short story "Yellow Bird", and in 1992 for the novel Nickajack. In 2007, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers' Circle of the Americas.