Shadow Tribe is the first in-depth history of the Pacific Northwest's Columbia River Indians-the River People whose ancestors refused to settle on reservations in central Oregon and Washington. Largely overlooked in accounts of tribal dispossession and confinement, their story illuminates the persistence of off-reservation Native communities and the fluidity of their identities over time.<BR><BR>Andrew Fisher's groundbreaking book traces Columbia River Indian identity from the mid-nineteenth through the late twentieth centuries. Fisher explains how the shared experience of being off the reservation and at odds with recognized tribes forged river communities into a loose confederation called the Columbia River Tribe. Environmental changes and political pressures have eroded their autonomy, yet many River People continue to honor their ancestral connection to the Collumbia, resistance to the reservation system, devotion to tradition, and detachment from federal control and tribal governance.<BR><BR>This pioneering study broadens our understanding of how Indians have thwarted efforts to confine and define their existence within narrow reservation boundaries<BR><BR>"Fisher's splendid account of Columbia River Indians' long resistance to their displacement and political redefinition is frank and sensitive, wise and sometimes wry. Shadow Tribe not only fills a crucial void in the literature on Pacific Northwest history, it also offers valuable lessons for all scholars of Indian and ethnic history."-Alexandra Harmon University Of Washington<BR><BR>"In this finely crafted book, Andrew Fisher provides a richly textured history of the making of a distinct identity among Indians of the Columbia River. By revealing the limits of tribal histories and uncovering the complexities of identity formation, Fisher makes a signal contribution to American Indian studies. A work of impeccable research and analysis, Shadow Tribe is also an eloquently told story of heroic persistence in the face of tragedy and loss."-Jeffrey Ostler, Author Of The Plains Sioux And U.S. Colonialism From Lewis And Clark To Wounded Knee