Diasporic Flows and "Dwelling-in-Travel" in Southeastern North America

Summary

The establishment of the Carolina colony in AD 1670 prompted a series of population movements toward Charleston among numerous Native American peoples eager to exchange slaves and hides with English colonials. In microcosm, this is a precursor and embodiment of the population flows associated with globalization today. We consider how diasporic movements between Indigenous home territories and the Carolina frontier established a pattern of what James Clifford has referred to as "dwelling-in-travel." From this perspective, Native American landscapes evolved into volatile hybrids of community displacement along established routes of travel and exchange. Further, as exemplified by the Chickasaw, Shawnee, and Apalachicola, different groups developed distinctive forms of diaspora and dwelling-in-travel, as functions of their own cultural traditions and the nature of their relations with colonial powers.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Native Space and Place: Colonialism, Resistance, and Transformation in Southeastern North America   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 616