Description: They Say the Wind Is Red is the moving story of the Choctaw Indians who managed to stay behind when their tribe was relocated in the 1830s. Throughout the 1800s and 1900s, they had to resist the efforts of unscrupulous government agents to steal their land and resources. But they always maintained their Indian communities--even when government census takers listed them as black or mulatto, if they listed them at all. The detailed saga of the Southwest Alabama Choctaw Indians, They Say the Wind Is Red chronicles a history of pride, endurance, and persistence, in the face of the abhorrent conditions imposed upon the Choctaw by the U.S. government.
Brief description: JACQUELINE ANDERSON MATTE is the author of The History of Washington County, Alabama and the co-author of Seeing Historic Alabama. Matte testified as an expert witness before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearings for federal recognition of the Alabama Choctaw.
Review Quotes: Jacqueline Matte makes a compelling case for the historical origin of the MOWA Choctaws in her book, They Say the Wind is Red, although the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs inexplicably still denies them federal recognition as an Indian tribe.--Dr. Greg Waselkov, director of the Center for Archaeological Studies, University of South Alabama