[.ca] Contested Territory: Whites, Native Americans, and ... (ISBN 0807125849)

Well-Trod Territory:
Contested Territory purports to be an examination of the interactions between whites, blacks and Native Americans in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories prior to statehood. Instead, it offers an old-fashioned, well-worn tale of white oppression and Native American and black reaction. That story might need to be told, but Wickett's attempt is a frustrating failure on many levels. First is Wickett's race-relations model. Wickett seems content to write a history that ignores much of the last three decades of scholarship on race, gender, identity, cultural formation, community building, acts of resistance, etc. (Since I am most familiar with the historiography of African American scholarship, I will use examples from that literature). Wickett shows no familiarity with the body of work produced by Joe Trotter Jr., Darlene Clark Hine, Robin D.G. Kelley, Quintard Taylor (and others of their generation) who have produced masterful, critical analyses of the lived worlds of African American men and women. Black Oklahomans, in Wickett's world, are one amorphous class, reduced for the most part to reacting to whites and, on occasion, Native Americans. Too often Wickett relies on scholarship that is thirty to forty years old. In fact, when I finished the first two chapters, I was certain that Contested Territory was the work of a venerable professor who finally had gotten around to turning 30-year-old lecture notes into a monograph. Instead, we have a scholar who unstintingly relies on the work and subtle biases of historians writing in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He even quotes some of these works at length. Wickett also relies uncritically on the reminisces of early white settlers. He does not challenge any of these recollections of life in early Oklahoma nor consider that the memories of these settlers, most of which cast Native Americans and African Americans in a negative light and were collected by the WPA more than four decades later, might be based more in the settlers' biases than in fact. Contested Territory does offer some new information and Wickett is to be commended for his work in the archives. But the shortcomings of this work more than outweigh its value. I had considered using this as a text in a course that I teach, but I can't in good conscious require that my students purchase such a flawed work. Nor would I want to spend the time trying to erase the negative images that Contested Territory would leave with them.

Indeed Contested Territory:
As a resident of Oklahoma, I found this book to be particularly fascinating. While we are often taught about the history of America as a nation, we are many times left with somewhat of a void as far as history of individual states are concerned. This book demonstrates excellent research skills as told by the many many primary sources. Wickett quite obviously has done his RESEARCH. While many historans today choose to rely on other historians research, Wickett has decided to sift through the abundant primary sources in order to break new ground. His information was thorough, well documented and completely enjoyable to read. My only complaint of the book is that it was not longer; I wanted to read more. Wickett's book would be an asset to the education of history students in Oklahoma as well as anyone interested in our unique history.

Indeed Contested Territory:
As a resident of Oklahoma, I found this book to be particularly fascinating. While we are often taught about the history of America as a nation, we are many times left with somewhat of a void as far as history of individual states are concerned. This book demonstrates excellent research skills as told by the many many primary sources. Wickett quite obviously has done his RESEARCH. While many historans today choose to rely on other historians research, Wickett has decided to sift through the abundant primary sources in order to break new ground. His information was thorough, well documented and completely enjoyable to read. My only complaint of the book is that it was not longer; I wanted to read more. Wickett's book would be an asset to the education of history students in Oklahoma as well as anyone interested in our unique history.

Contested Territory: Whites, Native Americans and African Am:
I feel this book has great importance and significance in the turbulent field of race relations. While reading this book I was continually struck by the extensive amount of research this historian has completed. I found Wickett's comparison and analysis of African Americans and Native Americans in white society to be fascinating. He clearly points out that while Native Americans were being invited into white society, African Americans were being segregated and pushed to the periphery of American society. The irony of course is that Native Americans did not wish to join white society, while African Americans were more than willing to do so. I feel this book has made an important contribution in the field of race relations.