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Since Time Immemorial: Native Custom and Law in Colonial Mexico

In Since Time Immemorial, Emory University history professor Yanna Yannakakis explores the meaning of a specific word at a specific time – "custom" – and what it meant during Spain's rule over Mexico. As Spanish leaders sought to consolidate control over their new holdings, they found it necessary to acknowledge the continuing legitimacy of indigenous custom even as they asserted the primacy of imperial law and Christianity. This gave indigenous communities some space to preserve the continuity of their own traditions, carving out a space of agency within the hierarchy of the Spanish Empire. All the same, Yannakakis warns against overstating this; the ultimate purpose of custom, as understood by the empire, was to integrate custom within the framework of Spanish law.

People of the Ecotone: Environment and Indigenous Power at the Center of Early America

A stereotype in past research toward Native American history is that Native American communities had simple and primitive cultures and were mostly 'reactors' to European colonialism. Robert Michael Morrissey, in People of the Ecotone: Environment and Indigenous Power at the Center of Early America, defies this obsolete research approach and puts the indigenous communities at the center of his work. He connects North America's century-long environmental changes with the cultures, conflicts, and trade relationships of the communities around the Illinois River Valley, focusing especially on the Illinois, Meskwaki, and Myaamia. Zeroing in on how bison hunting significantly influenced these communities' histories from the 13th century to the Fox Wars, Morrissey attempts, and succeeds, at drawing a historical map of human-nonhuman interactions that reflects the complexity of Native American cultures.

The Extraordinary Journey of David Ingram: An Elizabethan Sailor in Native North America

In the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa in September 1568 near present-day Veracruz, Mexico, the privateer John Hawkins' ships were badly damaged by the Spanish navy. Marooned by the enemy, around 100 of Hawkins' seamen believed they could not sail back to England and went on land to find a friendly settlement. Amongst these 100 seamen were David Ingram, Richard Browne, and Richard Twide. Eleven months later, the three would be picked up by a French ship in Nova Scotia, after having walked for around 5,800 kilometers across North America. The truthfulness of this long walk, however, has been debated ever since it was made public in 1582 after David Ingram's testimony.