| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 92.1

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 245 words from this article are provided below; about 396 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 92.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

The World's Richest Indian: The Scandal over Jackson Barnett's Oil Fortune. By Tanis C. Thorne. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. xvi, 292 pp. $35.00, ISBN 0-19-516233-1.)
This very readable book presents an account of the life and times of Jackson Barnett. Barnett, who may have been mentally impaired, was a Creek Indian who made a living doing odd jobs for much of his life. He was a member of a group (the Snakes) that refused to accept allotments from the tribal land, but one was assigned to him anyway. It proved to be very rich in oil. In 1912, when he was fifty-six, the first oil lease was signed for him by a court-appointed guardian. But since his property had been part of the tribal holdings, it was also under federal supervision.	1
Commissioner of Indian Affairs Charles Burke tried to arrange for a large bequest to be left to a Baptist college dedicated to Indian education when Jackson died. State officials wanted to keep Barnett's fortune under the control of the notoriously corrupt Oklahoma courts. What would happen depended upon judgments of how capable Barnett was to manage his own affairs. These varied with the situation. From 1912 to 1919, Jackson Barnett went through a remarkably rapid metamorphosis from recalcitrant Snake, to an average Indian, to village idiot, to a root-and-berry picking savage, to a hunter warrior, and finally to an aged Chieftain and Christian philanthropist. (p. 68)	. . .

There are about 396 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.