"This book represents a sophisticated balance between tribal history and a history of the Myaamia individuals who shaped the Nation. Bickers' biographical approach decolonizes our understanding of Myaamia experiences, restor(y)ing the people at the center of his broader analysis."Kathryn Magee Labelle, author of Dispersed, But Not Destroyed: A History of the Seventeenth-Century Wendat Diaspora
"Aamaawia John Bickers has written an intentionally Myaamia-centered history of the Miami Nation. Emphasizing nineteenth century Myaamia decisions to adapt their political, social, and economic institutions to meet the challenges of multiple forced removals and ongoing American efforts at dispossession, Bickers shows that although Myaamias changed, they did not disappear or cease to be a tribal nation. Myaamias experimented with aspects of American society such as farming and private land ownership, convincing their American contemporaries and later scholars that they were well on their way to assimilation and disappearance, but Myaamias remained committed to the survival of their own community. Emphasizing traditional Myaamia understandings that both tribal and individual well-being depended on active participation in community and ceremonial life, they nurtured a strong sense of tribal connection that has carried them through to the present. While earlier studies, like earlier American settler colonists, emphasized Myaamia change meant disappearance, Bickers' emphasis on Myaamia-directed change reveals that change need not be destructive but could be instead be generative."Rebecca Kugel, author of To Be the Main Leaders of Our People: A History of Minnesota Ojibwe Politics, 18251898
"Eschewing comfortable binaries like "traditional" versus "progressive," The Miami Nation is a nuanced political history anchored in Myaamia culture and language. Taking a multivalent approach, Bickers explores how Myaamia people navigated change within their villages, within their nation, and on the international stage. Beautifully written and carefully researched, The Miami Nation offers new perspectives on Indigenous nation-building, diplomacy, and the nature of political power."Christina Snyder, author of Great Crossings: Indians, Settlers, and Slaves in the Age of Jackson
