Wayne Lee has been honored by the Society for Military History with the Outstanding Book Award for his latest work, The Cutting-Off Way: Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, 1500-1800. Published by UNC Press, the book offers a meticulously researched and thought-provoking analysis of Native American warfare, challenging long-held assumptions and shedding new light on Indigenous military strategies. Lee integrates archaeology, anthropology, cartography, and Indigenous studies into military history, offering a nuanced portrayal of Native American warfare. His “cutting-off way of war” (COWW) paradigm reinterprets Indigenous military strategies in the context of their lived realities, rather than through the lens of European or settler practices.
The award committee praised Lee’s work for its depth of evidence, compelling analysis, and sophisticated writing, emphasizing its contribution to understanding the cultural and subsistence-based foundations of Indigenous warfare. It was noted that “Lee dispels incorrect assumptions, examines deeply-rooted systems of culture and warfare, and emphasizes the importance of subsistence in these systems and cultures.”
Please join us in congratulating Wayne Lee!