Captives among the Indians

A curated collection of first-person captivity narratives recounts colonial-era captures by various Indigenous communities, depicting a range of outcomes from harsh punishment to adoption and long residence. Each account describes capture, daily life, hunting, ceremonies, and survival strategies, and reflects on language, customs, and the emotional effects of displacement. Narrators detail attempts at escape, exchanges and negotiations with captors, and evolving personal relationships that complicate simple victim-perpetrator roles. Presented as an edited compilation, the pieces blend memoir and ethnographic observation to convey everyday practices and frontier conditions during periods of violent contact.