Ned Christie: The Creation of an Outlaw and Cherokee Hero

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

Finalist, Oklahoma Book Award

Best of the Rest Law and Order History-True West Magazine

"In contrast to the century-old popular, usually exaggerated story of outlawry in the Cherokee Nation, Devon Mihesuah presents an accurate historical account of Ned Christie. This book will be a refreshing read for those already familiar with Christie's life, and all will find it an intriguing story well told." –Daniel F. Littlefield, Jr.

Devon Mihesuah's strengths in retelling the tale of Christie are her collaboration with his relatives, her archival prowess, and especially her ability to sift through the massive popular historiography that emerged around Christie's story. Perhaps Mihesuah's most impressive feat in this work is her unrelenting goal to sort out a confusing, error-ridden popular historiography… Ned Christie is a valuable, accessible addition to a growing historiography that explores an interwoven Indian Territory and Oklahoma. Both historians and those curious about the region, the Cherokee Nation, the North American West, indigenous peoples families, and memory in American history should consult her work. —John Truden, Western Historical Quarterly

This excellent study is based on painstaking research. . . the study is thorough and the narrative quite readable, well suited for general and academic readers alike. Clearly this will remain the definitive work on Ned Christie for some time to come. —Kathleen P. Chamberlain, Southwestern Historical Quarterly

"Books like this are important today, when academic expertise is often dismissed and many would still prefer to read a story about "bad Indians" and "good white guys." Mihesuah fights these preconceived notions with deep research and careful sourcing, writing in an accessible style that should appeal to nonprofessional readers. Her experience writing both fiction and nonfiction is especially helpful as she parses out where other authors have unwisely crossed the line between the two." –Lauren Brand, Ethnohistory

Devon Abbott Mihesuah provides a nuanced, well-researched profile of the one-time Cherokee statesman accused of ambushing a Deputy U.S. Marshal in Indian Territory. Mihesuah demonstrates how outlaw myths evolve and how the journalistic wrongs done to Christie after his death matched the legal injustice done to him in life. –True West

"Mihesuah has written an intriguing and important book, in which she tracks Ned Christie's life and legend. Like a master detective, she skillfully reexamines it all and exposes numerous fabrications, half-truths, and hearsays. Never losing sight of Christie and those associated with him – friends, kin, and enemies alike – her book exposes injustices, prejudices, and conflicts that have impacted Cherokee and Indigenous lives more broadly and that continue to resonate today." —Native American and Indigenous Studies

"In Ned Christie, author Devon Mihesuah reveals the truth in the life of Cherokee hero Ned Christie and explains how he came to be that hero to generations of Cherokee people and others. Mihesuah's dedication to research and thoughtful writing leave no doubt that her telling of Ned Christie's story will last long into the future." –Roy Hamilton, late historian for the Cherokee Nation

"Mihesuah connects Christie's history to the challenges faced by other Native Americans in the southeastern Plains during the late nineteenth century, their struggles for sovereignty, white encroachment racism, and the persistent violence in that borderland region, which makes it a useful resource for historians of the Great Plains." –Great Plains Quarterly

"This is  fascinating reading about the Christie family genealogy, and life in the Cherokee Nation in the 19th Century." –Talbot Library and Museum

"Mihesuah's analysis is undoubtedly the most complete, unbiased and centered upon Christie to date. Mihesuah deftly balances fact-checking with drama, an engaging writing style, and a sense of intrigue in Ned Christie: The Creation of an Outlaw and Cherokee Hero. This work is sure to delight a wide variety of audiences, from casual readers to tribal historians, to historians of the West, the South, and the state of Oklahoma." –Chronicles of Oklahoma

"An important historiographical statement on the study of so-called outlaws in the American West and a much-needed intervention vis-à-vis how scholars generally make sense of notorious historical figures. Consistently and convincingly, Mihesuah invites readers to compare the Christie of Wild West lore against a reinterpretation that situates him in a Cherokee context wherein outlaw becomes hero. The book thoroughly unmasks how previous writers merely repeated existing accounts of Christie's life and sheds light on how these reiterations have often been misleading and occasionally completely fictional." –Meg Devlin O'Sullivan, Journal of Southern History

"Highly recommended for readers interested in Native American Studies or the Old West." –Library Journal

Indigenous historian debunks ‘truth’ about Cherokee statesman Ned Christie