Nannette Croce - Profile

I have done extensive independent study in US History, particularly around the relationship of the US Government with Native Americans. Unlike many, my studies have extended beyond the Indian Wars, into the reservation period and even more recent history as well as current issues. I find that most US citizens have a poor understanding of current American Indian rights and issues because they simply do not know the history behind it.

Frankly, I feel that the last thing Native Americans/First Nations people need is more white folk claiming to speak for them. The sad fact is that most non-natives either are not interested in or don't know where to find the writing, both fiction and nonfiction, of those who do a much better job at telling their own stories. In my writing, I would like to create an interest in those topics and serve as a portal to those writings.

Though I graduated from George Washington University in Washington, DC with a BA in History, I really didn't do much in the field until after my retirement as a Benefits Specialist (health care coverage is another topic I write on). My interest in Native American history and culture began with the Mari Sandoz biography, Crazy Horse, Strange Man of the Oglalas. I now own probably a couple of hundred books on the topic, and have conducted my own research using primary sources. I've spent my summers visiting battlefields and Pueblos making contacts with the most respected individuals––both Indian and non-Indian––in the field. My book reviews have appeared regularly in Montana, the Magazine of Western History.

My other historical field of interest is US Revolutionary War history. I volunteer as a tour guide at the site of the only revolutionary war hospital officially commissioned by the Continental Congress in Historic Yellow Springs, just outside of Philadelphia, PA. I have written short historical pieces for their guidebooks, etc.

In addition to my writing for Suite 101, I am Senior Editor for The Rose and Thorn Literary Ezine and my fiction and nonfiction have appeared in several online and print publications including The Philadelphia Inquirer.