I've Been Here All the While
Black Freedom on Native Land

This was a deeply personal, well-researched, and well-articulated book that presented a more accurate history of the Civil War and Reconstruction in nineteenth century "Indian Territory" (modern-day Oklahoma state). The author Alaina Roberts has a family history in the area, which spurred her to wan......more

a forced read for my woke professor, but honestly still a pretty good book. the best part: unlike most history texts, this book was concise and well organized 😮‍💨......more

(had to write a review for my class lol) Roberts started this book ready to convince the reader that Reconstruction should be redefined as a concept as well as a time period. She uses a swath of sources that show the freedoms experienced by freedpeople within these territories and the reversal of the......more

Roberts contributes to a lesser known part of western and black history: those who lived in Indian Territory. It’s an intriguing read how former enslaved people of the Native American tribes were impacted by political policy and Reconstruction. She also intersperses her own family history within the......more

While settler colonialism is usually associated with white Europeans, Alaina Roberts argues here that marginalized or subaltern groups can also become active participants in the colonial enterprise, and indeed can serve settler governments as vanguards of their own subsequent expansion. In Indian Te......more