Unsettling Histories of the South

This essay argues for re-envisioning southern history with indigenous experiences at its center. It draws on multi-disciplinary sources, including historiography, literary criticism, anthropological studies, and archival materials to show that southern history is far more complex and contradictory than much scholarship has acknowledged and that focusing on the Native South helps lay bare those complexities. Going beyond a call to simply add more Indians to studies of the region, the essay urges a reconceptualization of time, place, and power, such as expanding the temporal frame and grappling with tensions between and among American Indians, African Americans, and others in the South. Despite tremendous advances in the field with respect to analyses of race and gender, a significant blind spot remains with regard to Native American history and the stakes of ignoring it include extending the project of settler colonialism.