Beyond the Reservation is the first in-depth examination of the American Indian presence in local courts during the nineteenth century. Through examination of Washington Territory's district court records for 1853-1889, as well as other archival materials, Brad Asher provides a detailed portrait of Indian-white contact within this region. Overturning the conventional notion that Indians were confined to reservations during the latter half of the nineteenth century, Asher shows that most Indians in Washington Territory never ...
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Beyond the Reservation is the first in-depth examination of the American Indian presence in local courts during the nineteenth century. Through examination of Washington Territory's district court records for 1853-1889, as well as other archival materials, Brad Asher provides a detailed portrait of Indian-white contact within this region. Overturning the conventional notion that Indians were confined to reservations during the latter half of the nineteenth century, Asher shows that most Indians in Washington Territory never moved to reservations or resided on them only seasonally. As the central mechanism for governing interracial contact outside of reservations, the courts were the primary vehicle for creating and policing racial boundaries. Initially denied legal standing in white courts, Indians at first attempted to resolve disputes with settlers and with other Indians according to their cultural traditions. In the 1870s, when they did gain access to legal institutions, they began using these for their own ends. The legal systems remained far from race blind, however, and few Indians gained satisfaction in American courts. By focusing on contact between Indians and whites, this book challenges the emphasis of most histories on the exclusion and separation of Indians during the settlement period. In addition, by conceiving of law as a mode of governance, it sheds new light on the role of the state in the colonization of the American West.
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Add this copy of Beyond the Reservation: Indians, Settlers, and the Law to cart. $39.79, very good condition, Sold by Jenson Books Inc rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Logan, UT, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by University of Oklahoma Press.
Add this copy of Beyond the Reservation: Indians, Settlers, and the Law to cart. $67.75, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by Univ of Oklahoma Pr.
