Lucy Eldersveld Murphy is Professor of History at the Ohio State University, Newark.

• Introduction; 1. 'The rightful owners of the soil': colonization and land; 2. 'To intermeddle in political affairs': new institutions, elections, and lawmaking; 3. 'Damned yankee court and jury': more new institutions, keeping order and peace; 4. Public mothers: women, networks, and changing gender roles; 5. 'A humble type of people': economic adaptations; 6. Blanket claims and family clusters: autonomy, land, migration, and persistence; Conclusion; Epilogue.

'Lucy Eldersveld Murphy offers valuable insights into the assimilation of ethnic groups into American society in this major study of mixed-lineage Creole and indigenous people in the Great Lakes region. Using solid research and perceptive analysis, [she] provides an excellent account of the impact of land ownership, gender roles, and ethnic identification on the assimilation process, thus reconfirming her role as a leading scholar of Creole and mixed-lineage women in the Upper Midwest.' R. David Edmunds, Watson Professor of American History, University of Texas, Dallas