“Okfuskee: A Creek Indian Town in Colonial America” written by Joshua Piker illustrates some of the history of an important Creek town called Okfuskee. This book focuses on the town of Okfuskee and its “peculiar connections,” as Piker puts it, with British society. This book takes an “outside-in” approach to Okfuskee's story by addressing outside relations in Part 1 and internal affairs in Part 2 (Piker, 11). As one of the largest Creek towns of the 18th century, Piker argues that Okfuskee was a Native community that was also in many ways an American town. This review will explore some reasons why Piker's assessment of this city is, in fact, correct. In 1763, Okfuskee had a population of 1,500, making it one of the largest Creek towns of the 18th century. The first part of the book focuses on the city's actions outside the community, mainly on its diplomatic relations with the English. More than half of this book is devoted to diplomatic relations with the English and the rest deals with the impact of European trade and goods on local life. Native American life was not centered around tribe or confederacy. However, the Creeks placed importance on towns called “talwa,” made up of people sharing a square lot and a fire. This square tied the Creek towns together despite their distance. Furthermore, despite being hundreds of miles away from British, French, or Spanish colonies, Okfuskee still had connections to each of these empires in one way or another. The deer skin trade encouraged cross-cultural diplomacy with Europeans. Piker writes that relations with the English, in particular, were very important in Okfuskee. In the 16th century, the Spanish presence near Creek territory helped Okfuskee become familiar with European material...... middle of paper...... with a focus on Spanish ties to Native Americans and the fact that they wanted check them for work. The Spanish invented the encomienda system to collect tribute from Native Americans in the form of goods and labor. The authors wrote: “Not all economic exchanges between Indians and Europeans were directly coercive. Indians sometimes used trading relationships to exert influence over Europeans” (Goldfield, 60). The textbook says that the French dealt primarily with Native Americans through trade and that English settlers competed with Native Americans for land. The textbook does not actually support Piker's approach but does not necessarily oppose it. Piker's argument that Okfuskee was essentially an American town is challenging, but accurate. Relationships with Europeans transformed Okfuskee into a town that had aspects of an American colony.