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. UP Book Review by Sharron Brunner Aug. 10, 2024 I recommend Raw Deal for its poignant and honest rendition behind the history of many of the treaties that have made a major impact on Native Americans in the Midwest, because of its many facts associated with the establishment of Michigan as a state, the clearly delineated history behind many of the removal actions and the main characters involved such as government officials, and the end result of all the corrupt actions taken against the Native American people as a result of multiple treaties. I liked a lot of extensive details Downes provided about the Copper Age, plagues, first contacts and so many other topics. The chapter called "Married to the Animals" provided me with information about the role Ojibwe women played with the running of their villages. I was reminded about the importance of our spiritual practices and how children were not subjected to corporal punishment like children were in Europe. The Indians believed children had strong spirit guides who would not take too kindly to child abuse. Downes stressed the importance of cooperation, family bonds associated with clans and described their food sources from the past. I found it interesting when I learned that the first World War I was the French and Indian War because many countries were involved in the war. Raw Deal - Madison Ganzak - WDET-FM, Detroit Public Radio At an early age, Michigan author Robert Downes became aware that the land his family's farm sat on was formerly habited by Ottawa Indians, after digging up hundreds of artifacts in the fields. In his latest book, "Raw Deal: The Indians of the Midwest and the Theft of Native Lands," Downes aims to highlight the often unknown history of the Indigenous populations in the region and the bad deals that led to the theft of native lands. He says from an early age, he realized there were far more Indigenous people living in our continent than we have been led to believe. "In the contiguous United States, there were about 15 million Indians, and they had these magnificent civilizations that were pretty much wiped out in the 1500s by the conquistadors and brought all these diseases such as smallpox and measles and diphtheria and the like. And I go deeply into that too," said Downes. Red Lake Nation News - April 16, 2024 'Raw Deal' probes the unfair treaties forced on the Indians of the Midwest Journalist Robert Downes has published Raw Deal - The Indians of the Midwest and the Theft of Native Lands, a work of nonfiction history which includes the perils faced by Native peoples in the heartland of America.. The book tells the epic story of the Indians in their fight to retain their homelands against overwhelming odds. It details the theft of Native lands by squatters, speculators, unfair treaties and blatant swindles. "Although Native peoples were paid for their land with hard cash and services provided by the U.S. government, it was always for pennies per acre, or less, back by the threat of removal at the point of bayonets, sabers and guns wielded by government troops and violent militias," Downes says. "Native peoples who bowed to government demands soon learned that federal treaties rarely lived up to their promises."   My father was a farmer and during the 1940s he plowed up scores of arrowheads, spearpoints and other Indian artifacts on our family's farm outside Rockford, Michigan, including a stone axe head estimated to be 6,000 years old.   So I grew up believing that there were far more Native Americans than we had been taught in school, which in fact, was very little. Growing up, I read a great deal about Native peoples and eventually wrote a few short stories, one of which won an international writing contest. Thus, I have written three novels of the Ojibwe and Odawa, along with "Raw Deal - The Indians of the Midwest and the Theft of Native Lands," a nonfiction history. Thanks for reading!