Colonial-era engraving of Native Americans in colorful garments on a beige background. White title and subtitle above; author name below. Colonial-era engraving of Native Americans in colorful garments on a beige background. White title and subtitle above; author name below.

Size: 6 x 9
Pages: 392
Illustrations: 45 b&w halftones

Southern History
 ebook
 hardcover
 New & Noteworthy
 Books
 Native American Studies

Flocks of Birds

Virginia Colonialism into Native Country, 1670–1776

Anthony S. Parent Jr.

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978-1-64336-574-9
 Published: Jun 26 2025

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978-1-64336-575-6
 Published: Jun 26 2025

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978-1-64336-575-6
 Published: Jun 26 2025

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The inclusion of this book in the Open Carolina collection is made possible by the generous funding of

Centers Indigenous people and voices in the history of the vast expansion of Virginia colonialism into Appalachia

Flocks of Birds is an inclusive and interconnected history of the Virginia colony, one that demonstrates the centrality of Native history to America's colonial history. By delving deep into the primary record, Anthony S. Parent explores the evolving Indigenous response to Virginia colonialism in Native country across three generations, from 1670 to 1776.

As Virginia colonists expanded their settlements west from the Tidewater, they entered a region that was far from uninhabited wilderness. In 1685 more than 100,000 Indigenous people from dozens of nations lived in the Southern Appalachians. These were different groups than the Tsenacomoco (the Powhatan Paramount chiefdom) that colonists had encountered when they established their first permanent settlements along the coast. They included Susquehannock in the north; Shawnee and Seneca-Cayuga (Mingo) in the northwest; Saponi in the west; Tuscarora and Yamasee in the south; and the Ani'-Yun-wiya (Cherokee) in the southwest, among many others. Parent explores the complex interactions amongst and between Indigenous people, European colonists, and enslaved Africans.



Anthony S. Parent Jr. is professor emeritus of history, African American Studies, and American ethnic studies at Wake Forest University.

"This stunning book is the crowning achievement of a leading colonial historian. Anthony S. Parent Jr.'s Flocks of Birds invites history readers to soar over vital, unfamiliar territory."—Peter H. Wood, Duke University, author of Black Majority

"Tracking the ever-shifting alliances and enmities among the kaleidoscopically diverse peoples so scantily summarized as European, African, and Indigenous, Anthony S. Parent Jr. accomplishes the monumental task of conveying all that nuance in a clear and compelling narrative."—Woody Holton, University of South Carolina, author of Liberty Is Sweet

"A worthy synthesis of recent scholarship, Anthony S. Parent Jr.'s Flocks of Birds highlights the importance of Native actors in the colonial period."—Kristalyn Marie Shefveland, Southern Indiana University, author of Anglo-Native Virginia