They Say the Wind Is Red: The Alabama Choctaw - Lost in Their Own Land

by Jacqueline Anderson Matte

Overview

They Say the Wind Is Red is the moving story of the Choctaw Indians who managed to stay behind when their tribe was relocated in the 1830s. Throughout the 1800s and 1900s, they had to resist the efforts of unscrupulous government agents to steal their land and resources. But they always maintained their Indian communities—even when government census takers listed them as black or mulatto, if they listed them at all. The detailed saga of the Southwest Alabama Choctaw Indians, They Say the Wind Is Red chronicles a history of pride, endurance, and persistence, in the face of the abhorrent conditions imposed upon the Choctaw by the U.S. government.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603062473
Publisher:	NewSouth Books
Publication date:	09/01/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

JACQUELINE ANDERSON MATTE holds master’s degrees in history and education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a BS from Samford University. She is the author of The History of Washington County, Alabama and the co-author of Seeing Historic Alabama. Ms. Matte testified as an expert witness before the US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearings for federal recognition of the Alabama Choctaw. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama.

Editorial Reviews

Jacqueline Matte makes a compelling case for the historical origin of the MOWA Choctaws in her book, They Say the Wind is Red, although the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs inexplicably still denies them federal recognition as an Indian tribe.

Dr. Greg Waselkov

Very impressive ... [gives] a good understanding of the history of these people.

Vine Deloria Jr.

An invaluable addition to the growing library of Native American studies, They Say the Wind Is Red is a very highly recommended history of pride, love of land, danger, and a people's determination to endure and preserve their way of life in spite of severe and enduring hardships.

Midwest Book Review

They Say the Wind Is Red represents the successful effort of the MOWA Choctaws to articulate their own history. This development pleases all of us who believe in the place of American Indians in American history.

W. Richard West

I found They Say the Wind Is Red moving and convincing.

author of The World of the Southern Indians - Virginia Pounds Brown