Book cover of Detroit's Hidden Channels: The Power of French-Indigenous Families in the Eighteenth Century

Book description

French-Indigenous families were a central force in shaping Detroit's history. Detroit's Hidden Channels examines the role of these kinship networks in Detroit's development as a site of singular political and economic importance in the continental interior.

Situated where Anishinaabe, Wendat, Myaamia, and later French communities were established and where the…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Detroit's Hidden Channels as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

If one were to travel in a time machine back to the early 1700s, to the French colony of Detroit, they’d arrive at a village inhabited by mixed French-indigenous families, where women were power-brokers and family ties were the basis for structuring business relationships. The village would be totally unrecognizable to those of us who have been taught to envision French colonial Detroit as a male-dominated outpost, where European soldiers and fur traders operated in the service of the Crown. Historian Karen Marrero digs deep into the archives to assemble an account that completely reorients our understandings of the cultural…

From Krysta's list on Detroit’s hidden histories.

If you love Detroit's Hidden Channels...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like Detroit's Hidden Channels?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 99 books like Detroit's Hidden Channels.

Browse books like Detroit's Hidden Channels

Book cover of A People's Atlas of Detroit
Book cover of The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits
Book cover of Detroit 1967: Origins, Impacts, Legacies

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,298

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Detroit's Hidden Channels, you might also like...

Book cover of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman by Alexis Krasilovsky,

Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.

A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…

Book cover of Dark Fae Outcast

Dark Fae Outcast by Autumn M. Birt,

Trapped in our world, the fae are dying from drugs, contaminants, and hopelessness. Kicked out of the dark fae court for tainting his body and magic, Riasg only wants one thing: to die a bit faster. It’s already the end of his world, after all.

But while scoring his last…

5 book lists we think you will like!