Dan B. Wimberly's carefully researched book, Cherokee in Controversy: The Life of Jesse Bushyhead, presents the life story of Rev. Jesse Bushyhead (1804–1844), a central though secondary figure in the years leading up to and immediately following the removal of the Eastern Cherokee Nation to Indian Territory. Those familiar with the history of the Eastern Cherokee Nation will be familiar with Chief John Ross and missionary Evan Jones. Bushyhead was a close co-worker of both Ross and Jones. The book places Bushyhead in historical context and relates his role in significant events. Single chapters deal with Bushyhead's ministry in Tennessee, the events leading to removal, the Trail of Tears, settlement in Indian Territory (eastern Oklahoma), and Bushyhead's ministry in the west. There is also a chapter about Bushyhead's participation as mediator in an ill-fated United States government attempt to negotiate the peaceful removal of the Seminole tribe from Florida.

There are several dimensions to the life of Rev. Jesse Bushyhead—Bushyhead as mixed-blood Cherokee; Bushyhead as Christian convert and minister/missionary; Bushyhead as Cherokee political leader; and Bushyhead as slaveowner. The author argues that Bushyhead's identity, character, and lifework were forged in the fires of controversy. There was constant controversy, in all aspects of his life. As a mixed-blood Cherokee, Bushyhead's social location afforded him economic and social advantage. His linguistic capabilities afforded him political opportunities. He never attained wealth and so remained middle-class in Cherokee society. Wimberly intimates that Bushyhead experienced socio-economic tension with the Cherokee wealthy-elite who welcomed his abilities but did not accept him as a peer. There was also class tension with full-blood, often poorer Cherokees. Bushyhead's decision to receive Christian baptism, join the Baptist denomination, travel with and interpret for white missionary Evan Jones, and serve as church founder/pastor placed him in controversy with Cherokee traditionalists. His Christian faith could be interpreted as assimilationist. Wimberly argues that his acceptance of the Christian faith was genuine while also being a pragmatic expression of what Bushyhead believed was best for the future of the Cherokee.

Politically, Bushyhead was in the John Ross faction. This faction opposed removal to Indian Territory and sought to negotiate with the government of the United States to avoid removal. The Ross faction was outmaneuvered by U.S. government agents and the Major Ridge faction, resulting in the New Echota Treaty. Wimberly acknowledges that the Ridge faction viewed removal as a means to break the political and economic power of the Ross faction. When efforts by the Ross faction to renegotiate the New Echota Treaty failed, Ross and Bushyhead found leadership roles in the work of removal—Ross as overall superintendent and Bushyhead as leader of a detachment.

Upon arriving in Indian Territory, the Ross faction solidified power in the new Cherokee government over against the “Old Settlers” (Cherokees who emigrated to the territory before forced removal) and the Ridge faction. The assassination of Major Ridge for his role in facilitating the New Echota Treaty secured power for the Ross faction. In the new government (fashioned after the U.S. government), Bushyhead was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This position speaks to Bushyhead's status in the Ross faction and to the respect and confidence placed in him. Wimberley acknowledges that Bushyhead's association with Ross created political enemies. Yet Bushyhead was able to navigate politics with integrity.

The Bushyhead household included slaves. One female slave belonged to his wife, Eliza. Bushyhead himself purchased a male slave and family. Wimberley suggests that the man was a preacher among other slaves and may also have worked for the Bushyhead family. When Baptists in the North adopted an abolitionist position, the Baptist Board for Foreign Missions became critical of Bushyhead. There were rumors that the BBFM would withdraw support from him, but Bushyhead died of fever before official action was taken.

Wimberly makes subtle reference to the essential controversy faced by Bushyhead—he was a Native American, a man of color, and member of a minority group in a country dominated by Euro-American power and self-interest. The best efforts of the Eastern Cherokee Nation to negotiate in good faith with the U.S. government were futile. Through these controversies, Wimberley portrays Bushyhead as a person of integrity, consistently advocating for the interests of the Cherokee people and living Christian values in the rough-and-tumble world of politics. Bushyhead was authentic in his religious and political convictions. This reviewer would describe Bushyhead's perspective as “hopeful pragmatism.”

The historical research that produced this book is as informative as the book itself. Documentary information about Bushyhead is sparse. Beginning with sources related to the notable Ross and Jones, Wimberly patiently gathered information from state and local archives, small collections, and historical societies. Absent these small, regional collections, the life and history of Bushyhead could not be recounted. Methodologically, the author utilized the source material in relation to the challenges facing the Eastern Cherokees, allowing a portrait of Bushyhead to emerge. Where source material did not exist, Wimberly eschewed speculation, choosing rather to pose questions about Bushyhead's personal motivations or convictions.

This reviewer was concurrently reading Wimberly's book and An Indigenous People's History of the United States: ReVisioning American History by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (Beacon, 2014). Though radically different in purpose and scope, both books portray the impossible reality facing American Indigenous Peoples against the onslaught of the United States' government, military, and dominant culture that denied them justice, property, culture, and respect.