Yale University Press
Unsettling Territory
About this book
A history of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, from Revolutionary War allies to modern resurgence
How did the Oneida Nation of northeastern Wisconsin—stripped of nearly all its reservation lands by the early twentieth century—rise to become a powerful political and economic force in Native America and the present-day Midwest? Doug Kiel traces the journey of resurgence, adaptation, and nation rebuilding of the Oneida people, who navigated federal policies and socioeconomic shifts to chart their own future, transforming adversity into opportunity.
Kiel shows how Oneidas harnessed New Deal programs to advance their goals of self-determination; how urban migration, often seen as a marker of Indigenous displacement, became a tool of community empowerment; and how the Nation has reclaimed land and authority despite predictable backlash from neighboring towns. Drawing on extensive archival records, family photographs, and oral histories—including stories from his grandmother—Kiel highlights the everyday acts that have sustained the Oneida Nation across generations and offers vital insights into the broader fight for Indigenous nationhood in twenty-first-century America.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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A Note on Terminology
ix -
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Maps
xi -
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Introduction
1 -
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One Dreams Deferred
20 -
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Two Governance and Language
52 -
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Three Thriving in Motion
79 -
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Four Red Power and Economic Sovereignty
99 -
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Five Land Back and Resentful Backlash,
118 -
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Conclusion
141 -
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Notes
153 -
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Acknowledgments
191 -
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Index
195
