Fit for War
Fit for War
Sustenance and Order in the Mid-Eighteenth-Century Catawba Nation
The Catawba Nation played an important role in the early colonial Southeast, serving as a military ally of the British and a haven for refugees from other native groups, yet it has largely been overlooked by scholars and the public. Fit for War explains how the Nation maintained its sovereignty while continuing to reside in its precolonial homeland near present-day Charlotte, North Carolina. Drawing from colonial archives and new archaeological data, Mary Elizabeth Fitts shows that militarization helped the Catawba maintain political autonomy but forced them to consolidate their settlements and—with settler encroachment and a regional drought—led to a food crisis. Focusing on craft and foodways, Fitts uncovers the dynamic interactions between mid-eighteenth-century Catawba communities, as well as how Catawba women worked to feed the Nation, a story missing from colonial records. Her research highlights the double-edged nature of tactics available to American Indian groups seeking to keep their independence in the face of colonization. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series
An exacting and fascinating account of the life of Catawba Nation communities. . . . Clearly demonstrates how the Catawba peoples devised ways to maintain their political autonomy by developing networks and communities in the lower Catawba River valley.’—Society for Historical Archaeology ‘An authoritative account of how the Catawba Nation came to be in the mid-eighteenth century. . . . A worthy addition to scholarship on Native American and southern history.’—Journal of Southern History
Fitts combines archaeology and ethnohistory to explore Catawba strategies for retaining sovereignty and power in the colonial era. A model of interdisciplinary methodology, this book offers new insights into coalescence, colonialism, and Indigenous persistence.’—Christina Snyder, author of Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America ‘Skillfully mobilizes a rich array of historical and archaeological evidence to recover from obscurity the decisive role that Catawba women played in guiding their society through highly precarious times.’—Daniel H. Usner Jr., author of Indian Work: Language and Livelihood in Native American History ‘A fascinating glimpse of the Catawba Nation during this critical period. Fitts succeeds in tracing the mechanics of individual decisions that laid the groundwork for collective change.’—William L. Ramsey, author of The Yamasee War: A Study of Culture, Economy, and Conflict in the Colonial South
Mary Elizabeth Fitts is an assistant state archaeologist for the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology and a research associate with the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
