REVIEW: By the Fire We Carry Rebecca Naigle

 

For those of you that, like me, are Gen X, we sadly didn't learn much about Native American history in our country while we are in school. I've been trying to educate myself and this was one of the books that I picked up. I was glad that I did as Nagle weaves together history of her tribe and the narrative of a homicide that occurs in Oklahoma. This case - popularly known as the Murphy case - asked the question of whether the government had dis-established the Muskogee reservation. This was an important question because it would determine whether the state had the authority to prosecute Murphy and sentence him to the death penalty or not.

This book is  both amazingly researched and also intensely personal. Nagle tells the history of the Muskogee tribe and its relationship with the Federal Government, its travails on the Trail of Tears and the establishment of reservations, as well as their disestablishment. She alternates these chapters with her own personal story about the case and her experiences as a Muskogee tribal member.  I loved this book and would highly recommend reading it.  

Nagle also hosts the Podcast, This Land that I would also highly recommend.

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