Citizen’s Creek by Lalita Tademy is a historical fiction novel based on the real lives of a black man, Cow Tom, and his granddaughter, Rose.

Cow Tom showed a gift for languages and acted as the translator for his owner as well as being hired out to the US military during the war with the Seminoles in Florida. This service did not prevent him from being part of the “Remove” when the Creek Indians were moved to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Eventually Cow Tom was responsible for the negotiation of the treaty of 1866 for the inclusion of the Black Creeks in the Creek Tribe.

The second part of the book deals with the life of Rose, the granddaughter of Cow Tom. She keeps Cow Tom’s legacy alive and rises to a position of authority. She ensures that both the Indians and the Blacks receive protection in regards to their lands and their freedom, and are ultimately to be regarded as Americans.

Citizen’s Creek covers a lot of little-known history and the author delivers her story in a lyrical prose that brings this story to life. While I preferred the first half of book which told of Cow Tom, this is ultimately a story of the importance of family, identity, and community. ( )

Tademy has written an engaging, multi-generational family saga that begins in the 1820s with patriarch Cow Tom, an African-American enslaved by a Muscogee Creek chief in the southeastern United States. Aiding the U.S. Army in the removal of Seminoles from Florida, Cow Tom and his family, along with all of the Creeks, are soon after likewise removed from their ancestral lands to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). After many years Cow Tom eventually accumulates sufficient funds to purchase/free himself, his wife and their children, and they opt to stay and remain citizens of the Creek Nation.

What actually enhanced this book from "okay" to "good" in my enjoyment was learning upon completion that it was based on a real historical figure. Also fascinating was learning about the practice of slavery among Native Americans. Recommended for fans of obscure/overlooked stories in history. ( )

I received this book as a Goodreads First Reads winner.

Citizens Creek takes place in the early 1800s and spans over roughly a century of events in American history centered around Native Americans from different nations, their slaves and freedmen. (Can I just say, I was also amazed to discover how much I didn't know about the history of slavery and Native American tribes during this period, and why isn't this more commonly taught?) All of this is told through the lives of one family, mainly Cow Tom and then his granddaughter Rose.

I found this novel both interesting and disappointing at the same time. Being a fan of history, I thoroughly enjoy stories written from cross-generational standpoints, and was very excited to start reading this. Initially, the story didn't draw me in. The writing simply felt bland and sometimes repetitive in detail. After the first few chapters, it does pick up but I didn't find that overzealous need to keep reading until well into the second half of the book.

The writing also made me feel detached from the characters even when they were facing extreme ordeals and hardships. On the one hand, I liked the jumps in time from chapter to chapter in order to encompass the many events that shaped this family and others historically, but it also alienated me from Cow Tom and Rose as chunks of their lives went missing and the few sentence summaries of what went on in between made it difficult to form a real connection with them. I found the secondary characters more intriguing and almost wish some parts of the story could've been told from their perspective as well.

Having never read any of Lalita Tademy's other works, it was nice to learn that she did extensive research on this time period and included a family that actually exists. It prompted me to do my own research too, which I appreciated. But even with, and possibly due to, the tremendous outline of events to bring forth, the book wrapped up a bit abruptly for my tastes.

Overall, I'm glad to have read Citizens Creek and would certainly recommend and pass it on to other readers, but it's probably not something I would pick up again. ( )

Citizens Creek by Lalita Tademy is an epic novel, covering three generations of a Black/American Indian family. Based on the Tom family's actual history, the story begins in the 1830s in Alabama and concludes in Oklahoma after Indian Territory became that state in 1907.

Cow Tom is 12 years old, a black child owned by a Creek chief prior to the Removal (also known as the Trail of Tears). Not only was Tom good with cows, he was good with languages too and became an interpreter, or linguister, for the chief. Tom's mother had been kidnapped by Seminoles who had come to Alabama for that purpose. His first adventure begins when the Army approaches Chief Yargee for Creek warriors to help in rounding up Seminoles for Removal. Tom is determined to go so that he can look for his mother even though she has been gone for years. Chief Yargee is persuaded and rents Tom as a linguister to the Army for $350. Money that Yargee will allow Tom to save towards the day he will have enough to buy himself.

The plot follows Tom through his marriage, his family's removal, their resettlement in the Territory, and his becoming the first black Creek chief. Once Tom dies the story follows his granddaughter and her husband through the remaining years of the 19th century and through the turmoil of the deconstruction of the Territory.

All of my great grandparents were mid 19th century settlers in the IT region and I grew up hearing stories about the Removal and it's aftermath. Now, as a docent at The Fort Smith National Historic Site (a National Park), I'm often asked about the tribes in IT and slavery (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole were the primary tribes removed from the Southeast U.S.). I've read the nonfiction I can find and have attended various seminars that include the subject, but it has never been given the attention it deserves by those that study and write American history. Fortunately the Tom family personal records fell into Tademy's hands. As a skilled novelist she aptly brings life to the history. ( )

Citizens Creek chronicles the little known history of black slaves owned by Native Americans and the impact of the forced relocation to Indian Territory. Historical fiction at its best; a lyrical story told about real people experiencing real events. It does not include specific genealogical searches like Lalita Tademy's first two novels but it is still important reading for background information that will enhance family history research.