Book Review

Some persons might be surprised to learn that a microcosm for the study of Indian relations today exists in the piney woods of east Texas. Such is the view of Jonathan B. Hook in his recent study of the Alabama-Coushatta Indians, a transplanted portion of the old Creek Indian Confederacy.	1
The Alabamas and Coushattas began their westward movement in the wake of the French-Indian War. Eventually settled in what became the eastern part of Texas, they later received a state reservation and ultimately became a federally recognized tribe in present-day Polk County. Since the early days of the Texan experience, these closely related peoples have lived an obscure existence in a remote area, which probably accounts for their continuous identity despite the inroads of church and state.	2
Hook, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, recounts the history of these forgotten people through traditional sources as well as numerous interviews with tribal members. He subscribes to theories based on the use of biographical material and psychoanalysis in an effort to connect with elements of the past. While skeptics might argue, Hook makes a good case for the careful use of such an approach to explain what it is like to be an Indian in a larger culture.	. . .