On a Son of the Forest and Other Writings

I only read the first, autobiographical essay in here. It’s notable because it’s one of the (if not the) first autobiographical narratives written by a Native American (in the United States, at least). There are some interesting insights here on the unity of politics with religion, and it’s interesting as a brief historical source on the War of 1812 and itinerant preaching during the Second Great Awakening. That said, the genre of this text, autobiography, at the time was largely the domain of remarkably religious Christians who wanted to share their testimony of how they came to the faith—this work is no exception. As a result, it may not be exactly what readers expect, but it’s worth taking at face value.