Oklahoma Books

Throughout the 1600s settlers from central Mexico migrated north into today's New Mexico, settling along the Rio Grande where the Pueblo Indians had long resided. With them came Franciscan friars whose chief goal was to convert the Pueblos to Christianity and establish missions. Two main practices leveled against the Indians that fostered resentment and eventual rebellion was the encomienda (forcing the Indians to pay tribute to the Spaniards, usually in maize or manual labor) and the friars' insistence on the Indians abandoning totally their native religious ceremonies (the kiva, for instance) and adopting Christian ways. Abuses developed in both practices until a unified uprising among the Indians against the settlers occurred in 1680, where hundreds of colonists and over 20 friars were killed, and thereby emptying the province of all Spanish settlers. Property and churches were destroyed by the Indians, and for 12 years the Pueblos were free from Spanish rule, even presence.

In 1692, however, under the leadership of Diego de Vargas, the Spaniards returned, and over the next few years, using mainly diplomacy but also arms when necessary, re-established their authority. Churches and missions were rebuilt and Santa Fe (pretty much in ruins) was forcefully retaken from the Indians. Many of the Indians were still resentful, of course, and by 1696 another revolt was in the making. As time went on, the Friars became very much aware of this imminent rebellion and wrote letters to Vargas pleading for better military security and warning him of the dangers that were brewing. This book collects a number of those letters, and to read them is to feel the despair felt by the friars; some prepared themselves for martyrdom. Open rebellion erupted in June 1696 (some of the atrocities suffered by the friars are revealed in further letters collected here), but swift action by Vargas and a less-than-unified Indian action ended the revolt by late summer, with Spanish control assured.

The book consists of a long and very useful historical introduction about life along the northern Rio Grande up to 1700, and sections of letters written mostly by the friars and missionaries concerning the re-establishment of the missions after 1692, the warnings and pleas to Vargas, and then first-hand accounts of the revolt of 1696 itself. Most of the letters and documents come from archival repositories in Mexico City and Spain. It's a fascinating account and the immediacy of the dangers felt by the writers, even to the point of assuming their own deaths as they performed their sacred duties, packs quite an emotional wallop. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Spanish-Indian relationship in early New Mexico.

You'd never know from the dullish title, but this is an interesting, well-written, authoritative book of Western history. The subject is the upper Arkansas River valley around the present city of Pueblo -- not one of the West's most storied locations. There are a number of famous people who pass through the pages of this book -- Kit Carson, John Charles Fremont, Francis Parkman, and the Bents -- but the main characters are unfamiliar and have unalliterative, forgettable names: George S. Simpson, for example.

All the disadvantages aside, Janet LeCompte has written a small masterpiece about a handful of ex-mountain men, Mexicans, and traders who established several communities along the Arkansas River from 1840 to 1854. In the latter year, the Ute Indians killed most of the traders, thereby erasing Pueblo's claim to being the first White settlement in Colorado.

Most of the histories of the west are expansive, looking a big men and events. "PHG" is micro, focusing on a relatively unimportant region, and deriving its importance from a reconstruction of daily life among the Anglos and Hispanics at the isolated settlements. The author says the book is about the men and women who struggled to make a good life "out of the wild Indians, stubborn soil and thin grass of the difficult valley." Their failure, unnoticed as it may be in the larger scheme of things, is the drama of this homely story.

Smallchief

A thoroughly insightful and critical (in the best use of the word) look at how the Pulitzer prize is really awarded. This is a must read for any student of literature, and any student of writing.

A must have for those interested in history of the Quarter Horse. All of Denhard'ts books are excellent. I have and have read just about all of them. This book will never be outdated, and will always be relevant.

A must have for the Quarter Horse history buff. Exellent, as are all of Denhard's books. If you don't have it, you need it.

QUEST FOR TIRBAL ACKNOLWEDGMENT: CALIFORNIA'S HONEY LAKE MAIDUS could've been featured in our 'California' section but is reviewed here because its history is central to Native American circles as a whole, and shouldn't be limited to California-interest readers. A small group of Indians known as the Honey Lake Maidus live in northeast California -but as tribe they remain unrecognized by the federal government. The author is an anthropologist who has worked with them for several years, and QUEST FOR TRIBAL ACKNOWEDGMENT charts their long-lasting battle to obtain such recognition, contrasting their experience with that of other California Indian tribes who have won such federal recognition and who benefit from laws granting them casinos and other exceptions.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Ten-year-old Josh takes his injured father's place in the Cherokee Strip Land Rush of 1893. The book also contains information on the early history of Oklahoma.
This book is illustrated and contains archival photographs and drawings. It also includes bolded vocabulary words with a glossary. Children will be able to identify with the young, main character and learn about an important event in American history at the same time.
This educational children's book is both exciting and informative!

This book was written in 1994 and was featured on CBS: Sunday Morning numerous times as a story titled "Out of the Blue" with CBS Correspondent Bill Geist. This book is a guide to fly-in restaurants and golf courses in Oklahoma. The author, a former military pilot researched this subject thoroughly by flying to every airport in the state that was not restricted or military. While it is primarily a resource for food or golf hungry pilots, the author uses liberal amounts of humor to make it a fun read for anybody! The cover photo is from a golf course that you land on the course and taxi up to the club house and park near the 18th green. Best wishes, Dave Heffernan USAirCombat.com

The roadrunner is an icon of the Southwest so you'd think there would be many studies out on the roadrunner already - but it's one of the least understood and rarely receives individual examination. Here to correct that deficit is THE REAL ROADRUNNER, a guide to the behavioral patterns of the bird. Martha Maxon is a retired zoologist and environmental consultant who grew up in southern Texas: her assembly of literature and science about the roadrunner come from years of personal observation and research and provide a scholarly yet accessible survey.

Edited by professor Albert L. Hurtado, Reflections on American Indian History: Honoring the Past, Building a Future is an anthology of five essays by American Indian history scholars discussing key themes of Native history. The five crucial forces contemplated are Indian identity, tribal acknowledgment, sovereignty, oral tradition, and cultural adaptation. A vibrant revelation of Native history continues to impact Native life to this day, written and presented in plain terms for readers of all backgrounds, and especially recommended for college libraries and Native History course reading lists. "...for most tribes, the blood quantum limitation will either markedly decline or be eliminated. Indeed, conversations with tribal enrollment agents indicate that since growing numbers of current tribal members' children currently are ineligible for enrollment, most tribes who still retain a one-quarter minimal blood quantum now are reconsidering their requirements. Some tribes have attempted to increase blood quantums, and others oppose lowering blood quantum restrictions for economic reasons, but they seem to be swimming against a rising tide of intermarriage that is unlikely to ebb."