Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom (American Crossroads)

"This beautifully written book tells the haunting saga of a quintessentially American family. It is the story of Shoe Boots, a famed Cherokee warrior and successful farmer, and Doll, an African slave he acquired in the late 1790s. Over the next thirty years, Shoe Boots and Doll lived together as master and slave and also as lifelong partners who, with their children and grandchildren, experienced key events in American history - including slavery, the Creek War, the founding of the Cherokee Nation and subsequent removal of Native Americans along the Trail of Tears, and the Civil War. This is the gripping story of their lives, in slavery and in freedom. Meticulously crafted from historical and literary sources, Ties That Bind vividly portrays the members of the Shoeboots family. Doll emerges as an especially poignant character, whose life is mostly known through the records of things done to her - her purchase, her marriage, the loss of her children - but also through her moving petition to the federal government for the pension owed to her as Shoe Boots's widow. A sensitive rendition of the hard realities of black slavery within Native American nations, the book provides the fullest picture we have of the myriad complexities, ironies, and tensions among African Americans, Native Americans, and whites in the first half of the nineteenth century."--Publisher's description This beautifully written book tells the haunting saga of a quintessentially American family. It is the story of Shoe Boots, a famed Cherokee war hero and successful farmer, and Doll, an African slave he acquired in the late 1790s. Over the next thirty years, Shoe Boots and Doll lived together not only as master and slave, but also as lifelong partners who, with their children and grandchildren, experienced key events in American history-including slavery, the Creek War, the founding of the Cherokee Nation and subsequent removal of Native Americans along the Trail of Tears, and the Civil War.Meticulously crafted from a wide array of historical and literary sources, Ties That Bind vividly portrays the members of the Shoeboots family. Doll emerges as an especially poignant character, whose life is known primarily through the records of things inflicted on her-her purchase, her marriage, the loss of her children-but also through her moving petition to the federal government for the pension owed to her as Shoe Boots's widow. In this sensitive rendition of the hard realities of black slavery within Native American nations, Tiya Miles writes with honesty and compassion as she explores the interplay of race, power, and intimacy in the nation's early days. Ties That Bind provides the fullest picture we have of the myriad complexities, ironies, and tensions among African Americans, Native Americans, and whites in the first half of the nineteenth century.

in This Lyrical Narrative About Shoeboots, Doll, And Their Descendants, Tiya Miles Explores The Constant Push And Tug Between Family Connections And Racial Divides. Building On Meticulous And Inspired Historical Detective Work, Miles Shows What It Might Have Felt Like To Be A Slave And Reassesses The Convoluted Ideas About Race That Slavery Generated And Left As A Legacy.—nancy Shoemaker, Author Of a Strange Likeness: Becoming Red And White In Eighteenth-century North America

ties That Bind Is A Haunting And Innovative Book. Tiya Miles Refuses To Avoid Or Cover Over The Most Painful Aspects Of The Shared Stories Of
indians And African Americans.
instead, Miles Passionately Defends The Need To Explore History, Even When The Facts Provided By History Are Not Those That Contemporary People Want To Hear.—peggy Pascoe, Author Of relations Of Rescue: The Search For Female Moral Authority In The American West, 1874-1939

illustrations......Page 12 shoeboots family tree......Page 14 preface......Page 16 acknowledgments......Page 20 Introduction......Page 24 part one: Bone of My Bone......Page 32 1. Captivity......Page 36 2. Slavery......Page 48 3. Motherhood......Page 67 4. Property......Page 87 5. Christianity......Page 118 6. Nationhood......Page 133 7. Gold Rush......Page 162 part two: Of Blood and Bone......Page 178 8. Removal......Page 182 9. Capture......Page 195 10. Freedom......Page 212 epilogue......Page 224 coda......Page 237 appendix one......Page 240 appendix two......Page 247 appendix three......Page 249 notes......Page 252 selected bibliography......Page 306 index......Page 326