Choctaw Crime and Punishment, 1884-1907

Best Book on Oklahoma History Award presented by the Oklahoma Historical Society

Oklahoma Writer’s Federation Trophy Award for Best Book of Non-Fiction

Finalist, Oklahoma Book Award

Talihina.org’s List of Incredible Books for World Book Day 2022.

"It is rare to find a book that examines political murders among American Indian tribes. In so doing, Choctaw Crime and Punishment adds a new dimension to our understanding of how and why the Choctaw political parties were so volatile and dangerous. Drawing on an astonishing array of documents, newspapers, letters, and court records, Devon Abbott Mihesuah offers a dramatic and highly readable narrative of this period in Choctaw history."–Clare V. McKanna, author of White Justice in Arizona: Apache Murder Trials in the Nineteenth Century

"In this wonderfully researched manuscript, the author digs deeply into the political machinations within and around the Choctaw Nation in the 1880s and 1890s. Her book is a masterful work of historical investigation."–Greg O'Brien, editor of Pre-Removal Choctaw History: Exploring New Paths

"In vivid and sometimes painful detail, Mihesuah reveals the depths of social and political turmoil in the Choctaw Nation in the late nineteenth century as leaders struggled with federal policies of land allotment and assimilation. This richly textured narrative conveys not only the facts but also the emotions of Choctaw citizens facing an uncertain future."–Clara Sue Kidwell, author of The Choctaws in Oklahoma: From Tribe to Nation, 1855-1970

"Choctaw Crime and Punishment, 1884-1907 makes a valuable contribution to understanding intratribal dynamics during times of great stress. Likewise, the book’s extended discussion about unique methodological problems and appropriate sources should point the way for future studies of other tribes, especially those who were once forced from their southern homes into Indian Territory."—Journal of Southern History

"Mihesuah expands what I had learned in interesting ways. More importantly, I had never before realized the extent to which violence pervaded the peaceful land where I grew up. Reading this book, I was enthralled and troubled."–Me, You, and Books