A Place in Common

“This insightful collection of essays vividly illuminates the dilemmas and creativity of the diverse peoples who made early Detroit a pivotal nexus of Native peoples and imperial projects.” —Alan Taylor, author of American Civil Wars: A Continental History, 1850–1873

“In A Place in Common, Karen L. Marrero and Andrew K. Sturtevant have produced an edited volume that builds upon the recent flowering of scholarly histories of early Detroit, even as it encourages us to be inspired by the city’s capacity to reinvent itself as it moves forward. It is time for us to practice diversity and inclusion in our historical perspectives, and I suggest we start by situating ourselves in Detroit so we might understand the ‘borderlands legacies’ of this region and the ‘geopolitical complexity of North America.’ In short, let the study of American history start in Detroit! Read about Sally Ainse, Nain Rouge, John Askin, and Pontiac (Obwandiyag), then stay for the stories behind the histories as these brilliant scholarly writers probe the ‘politics of collective memory.’”  —Jay Gitlin, Yale University, author of The Bourgeois Frontier: French Towns, French Traders, and American Expansion

“The cutting-edge research of this volume provides a necessary corrective to previous scholarship about the early history of Detroit. This volume situates Detroit as a place of long-standing economic, diplomatic, and cultural significance, and offers a new foundational history for understanding Detroit as a place of continual reinvention–thus offering hope for its future resurgence. Highly readable and insightful articles make this a must-read volume for anyone interested in new perspectives on both the history of this region and for understanding how Indigenous nations and European settler colonists shaped the future of the United States and Canada.” —Susan Sleeper-Smith, emerita professor, history department, Michigan State University, and author of Indigenous Prosperity and American Conquest: Indian Women in the Ohio River Valley, 1690–1792