William Apess was the first Native American to fully, and publicly, speak out regarding the racism and unfair treatment that he and others endured. The author's writing is eloquently delivered, instilling the reader with a realistic framework of a political, historical, and personal mindset.

Designed especially for classroom use, this book brings together the best-known works of the nineteenth-century Indian writer William Apess, including the first extended autobiography by a Native American. The text is drawn from On Our Own Ground, which was named a Choice Outstanding Academic Book. Barry O'Connell has written a new introduction for this abbreviated edition.

In "Indian Nullification of the Unconstitutional Laws of Massachusetts Relative to the Marshpee Tribe," William Apess delivers a compelling and articulate plea for the rights and sovereignty of Native American tribes, particularly focusing on the Marshpee Tribe in Massachusetts. The text serves not only as a political indictment of colonial policies but also showcases Apess's eloquent prose, rich with rhetorical strategies and a clear moral imperative. Crafted in the antebellum period, the...

This account details the political problems the Marshpee tribe faced in Massachusetts. A table of contents is involved.

Indian Nullification of the Unconstitutional Laws of Massachusetts Relative to the Marshpee Tribe by William Apess is a groundbreaking account of Native American activism and an early example of Indigenous resistance literature. Apess, a Pequot minister, writer, and activist, documents the struggle of the Mashpee (or Marshpee) Wampanoag people in Massachusetts to gain self-governance and protect their lands from encroachment and exploitation by local and state authorities. Apess argues tha...