The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Fall 1987, Volume 33, Number 4
Thomas L. Scharf, Editor

Book Notes

Indians of California: The Changing Image.

By James Rawls. Norman: The University of Oklahoma Press, 1984. Maps. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. 293 Pages. $9.95 Paperback.

The University of Oklahoma Press has just published a paperback edition of James Rawls’ Indians of California, which originally came out in 1984. The book is a major contribution to the history of Indian-white relations in California, and it is good that it is now available in a more affordable for-mat. The book traces the white Californians’ negative stereotypes of the area’s Indians, and the resulting negative treatment of the native peoples. Rawls shows how the first Anglos originally viewed the Hispanic missionaries as people who abused and exploited the Indians, but that the Anglos later changed their views of both the Spanish and the Indians and proceeded to themselves exploit the Indians in cruel ways, with bounty hunters and de facto slavery. This book should be consulted by anyone working on any topic pertaining to California Indian-white relations.