Indian Researches, Or, Facts Concerning The North American Indians

Before the frontier became myth, it was lived and argued over in print. A raw record of contact. In Indian Researches, Benjamin Slight gathers observations, reports, and reflections that reveal how nineteenth century America tried to describe, govern, and convert the peoples it called 'Indians'.Part historical ethnography book, part missionary ethnographic account, this volume moves between north american frontier life and the moral language of its day, detailing indigenous social conditions alongside the era’s hopes for 'improvement' in social, civil, and religious life. Read it as north american indian history in the making: a vivid primary source collection shaped by christian missions among natives, and by the practical pressures of settlement and policy. For readers of early american anthropology and indian affairs history, it is a revealing witness to how knowledge was gathered, categorised, and put to use; for general readers, it offers an immediate sense of the debates and assumptions that surrounded cultural encounter.Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today -- a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. This historic reprint edition also serves as a durable native american studies reference, valued by classic-literature collectors who seek influential period documents as well as by curious readers tracing the long, contested record of American expansion.