About this item
RAW DEAL explores the theft of Native lands by squatters, speculators, unfair treaties and blatant swindles, focusing on the Indians of the Midwest and the Great Lakes.Although Indian lands were paid for with hard cash and services provided by the U.S. government, it was always for pennies per acre, backed by the threat of removal at the point of bayonets, sabers and guns wielded by government troops and violent militias. Native peoples who bowed to government demands soon learned that federal treaties rarely lived up to their promises.RAW DEAL traces the heroic efforts of the Indians to retain their homeland through centuries of warfare and exploitation. From the first people to inhabit the Upper Great Lakes 13,000 years ago, RAW DEAL ranges across the centuries in the confrontation between Native peoples and the hard-luck immigrants of Europe, who came flooding across the ocean, eager to get their share in a dog-eat-dog world.
About the Author
Robert (Bob) Downes, has backpacked through more than 70 countries, with destinations ranging from the supercities of the Third World to the heart of the American wilderness.
An ardent bicyclist, he has also ridden or bike-toured countries around the world, including Australia, Croatia, Vietnam, China, India, Sri Lanka, Tuscany, Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, across Europe, England and Ireland and throughout the U.S.
These adventures have contributed to his nonfiction books, "Travels With My Wife," "Biking Northern Michigan," and "Planet Backpacker."
A resident of Traverse City, Michigan, Downes co-founded the Northern Express Weekly, which grew to become the region's largest newsweekly.
Born in 1952, Downes attended Wayne State University in Detroit, graduating in 1976 with a major in journalism and a minor in photography. He is married to Jeannette Wildman, who has a co-authorship credit on "Travels With My Wife."
