The Trial of "Indian Joe"

"The Trial of 'Indian Joe' is a scholarly monograph that reads sometimes like a whodunit and sometimes like a courtroom thriller. . . . [B]y book's end, the author has aroused our sympathies for Gabriel, noting that the very name bestowed upon him, 'Indian Joe,' conveyed the stereotypes . . . that afflicted Native Americans in California. . . . Recent events in California politics remind us that Native Americans are still being marginalized and victimized."—Los Angeles Times

“McKanna very skillfully weaves the extensive trial transcript into a highly readable narrative while at the same time injecting very interesting information on capital punishment, juries, judges, and even the literary treatment of Indians. . . . This is high-quality history at its evidential best.”—John R. Wunder, author of Retained by the People: A History of American Indians and the Bill of Rights

“Nearly everyone loves a murder mystery. Clare McKanna has written one—and it is a good read—based on newspaper accounts and trial transcripts, featuring a double murder on Otay Mesa in San Diego County in 1892. . . . McKanna does an excellent job contextualizing the murders: San Diego County of the 1890s, the life of Indian laborers, and Gabriel’s background in Baja, are well described. Moreover, he offers the reader a primer on crime scene investigation and legal strategies of criminal defense.”—Roger D. McGrath, Western Historical Quarterly