The Mexican Earth (American Indian Literature & Critical Studies Series)

After extensive excursions in Mexico Todd Downing came to see Mexican history from the perspective of the land and its native people. A Choctaw Indian himself he identified with the Indios and in The Mexican Earth he narrates - within the frame of a travelogue - Mexican history from an indigenous point of view. Along with historical highlights - the Aztecs and the Spanish conquest the first struggles for liberty and Maximilians empire and the revolutions and strife of the early twentieth century - Downing presents the folklore and anecdotes of the people and of their gods and heroes that reveal the color depth and variety of Mexican life. This second edition includes a new bibliography an extensive index and a foreword in which Wolfgang Hochbruck explores Downings life and works within the context of Native American writing.