A01=Mary Elizabeth Fitts
American Indian
anthropology
archaeology
Author_Mary Elizabeth Fitts
Catawba Nation
Category=JHMC
Category=NHK
Category=NK
colonial southeast
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
history
Mary Fitts
Native American
political autonomy
Settlement aggregation
sovereignty
Product details
- ISBN 9781683400059
- Weight: 715g
- Dimensions: 155 x 233mm
- Publication Date: 20 Jun 2017
- Publisher: University Press of Florida
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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The Catawba Nation played an important role in the early colonial Southeast, serving as a military ally of the British and a haven for refugees from other native groups, yet it has largely been overlooked by scholars and the public. Fit for War explains how the Nation maintained its sovereignty while continuing to reside in its precolonial homeland near present-day Charlotte, North Carolina.
Drawing from colonial archives and new archaeological data, Mary Elizabeth Fitts shows that militarization helped the Catawba maintain political autonomy but forced them to consolidate their settlements and—with settler encroachment and a regional drought—led to a food crisis. Focusing on craft and foodways, Fitts uncovers how Catawba women worked to feed the Nation, a story missing from colonial records. Her research highlights the double-edged nature of tactics available to American Indian groups seeking to keep their independence in the face of colonization.
Drawing from colonial archives and new archaeological data, Mary Elizabeth Fitts shows that militarization helped the Catawba maintain political autonomy but forced them to consolidate their settlements and—with settler encroachment and a regional drought—led to a food crisis. Focusing on craft and foodways, Fitts uncovers how Catawba women worked to feed the Nation, a story missing from colonial records. Her research highlights the double-edged nature of tactics available to American Indian groups seeking to keep their independence in the face of colonization.
Mary Elizabeth Fitts is assistant state archaeologist for the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology and a research associate with the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
