“Davis’s book is part family genealogy, part academic text and a completely sobering look at how former black slaves of Native American tribes, and mixed-race descendants, have been treated. . . . In the end, the study is a fascinating exercise in personal identity and how we regard who we are.”—The Washington Post
“In Untangling a Red, White, and Black Heritage, Darnella Davis chronicles a moving personal quest and a surprising family saga that contribute new insights for Indian Territory and Oklahoma histories. We still have very few stories—let alone full-length studies—written by descendants of Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole freedpeople. This original and thought-provoking contribution to the literature is therefore precious. . . . In sum, Untangling a Red, White, and Black Heritage, a labor of love by an author for her family, enriches a growing academic and public conversation about Afro-Native histories and experiences.”—Tiya Miles, Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
“Davis evocatively details family memories of the deeply problematic Dawes allotment process. . . . Family memories such as this one—highlighting the diversity of ways in which individuals chose to navigate this complex moment—demand scholarly attention.”—Kendra T. Field, Western Historical Quarterly
“As accessible as it is engrossing . . . Untangling a Red, White, and Black Heritage aids understanding of who the nation is, both in the past and in the present.”—Brandy Thomas Wells, Chronicles of Oklahoma
“The language and the methodology clearly link this book to what was once called ‘the new social history.’ Maybe it is time to revisit ‘the new’ and see the outcomes of that intellectual movement in how we ‘do’ and how we understand history. Untangling a Red, White, and Black Heritage would be a good place to start.”—The Independent Scholar
“Because Darnella Davis uses personal family history and documents to describe her legacies with the Creek Nation and Cherokee Freedmen, this book offers a phenomenal and unique approach to culture and land-based race relations during the Indian Allotment Era and how they affect her family. Her years of formal research and family oral histories make this book extraordinary and invaluable.”—Ron Welburn, author of Hartford’s Ann Plato and the Native Borders of Identity
