Journey to Freedom

Regular price $ 35.00

by Kent Blansset

Yale University Press

9/25/2018, hardcover

SKU: 9780300227819

 

The first book-length biography of Richard Oakes, a Red Power activist of the 1960s who was a leader in the Alcatraz takeover and the Red Power Indigenous rights movement

"Blansett's meticulous research pays due respect to Oakes' massive contribution to the Red Power movement but avoids the hubris of hagiography by understanding Oakes as a flawed individual who could be polarizing and difficult . . . Blansett's balanced writing combines with copious photos and maps that bring the story to life."--Dina Gilio-Whitaker, Los Angeles Times

"Writing from the heart, Kent Blansett demonstrates the sui generis leadership of Richard Oakes in the big picture of Native nationalism that rocked federal-Indian relations and captured public attention in the quest for sovereignty."--Donald L. Fixico, author of Call for Change: The Medicine Way of American Indian History, Ethos, and Reality


"In this exhaustively researched and brilliant work, Kent Blansett centers the story on Mohawk leader Richard Oakes. A Journey to Freedom is a powerfully told and richly documented biography of one of Indian Country's most important leaders and contributes to our understanding of the Red Power Movement, the occupation of Alcatraz Island, Native American activism in the twentieth century, and the urban Indian experience."--Amy Lonetree, author of Decolonizing Museums: Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums
"Kent Blansett's deeply researched and well-told biography reveals the centrality of tribal nationalism in Intertribal organizing. Richard Oakes's story frames a major rethinking of the entire history of the Red Power movement. Not to be missed!"
About the Author:
Kent Blansett, a Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Shawnee, and Potawatomi descendant, is assistant professor of history and Native American studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.