We Come for Good is a remarkable volume for several reasons, but two stand out. First, it originates from a Southeastern Indian tribe, the Seminole, and their Tribal Historic Preservation Office (THPO). Second, its authorship is markedly nonacademic. And this is most assuredly one of its key strengths.

This volume began as a symposium held at the 2013 Southeastern Archaeological Conference (SEAC). SEAC has made great strides in recent years to be more deliberately inclusive of the native tribes of the Southeastern United States. As the 2013 conference was held in Tampa, Florida, it was an ideal opportunity for the Seminole to participate, which they did with the sponsorship of the Florida Archaeological Council. Some of the 18 chapters of the resulting edited volume were presented at the conference. Other chapters were written afterwards, and read as reflectively aware of the growing importance of the overall volume. The reader can get a sense of the weight the Seminole THPO hoped to convey by telling their own stories about what tribal historic preservation is like—what it looks like, how it is practiced, who is involved, and how it is perceived. Due to limitations on review length and the abundance of individual contributions, a chapter-by-chapter review is not possible. However, some key themes should illustrate why I believe this to be a must-have work for the editors' stated intended audiences: employees of federal agencies and other THPOs, cultural resource management professionals, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) specialists, and academics.

By my count, 22 of the 25 authors are from the Seminole THPO staff, and/or are tribal members. Five chapters are derived from interviews with Ah-Tha-Thi-Ki Museum Oral Historian Stephen Bridenstine. The use of repeated questions directed at tribal members, including a high school intern, museum cultural advisors and historians, a Miccosukee language instructor, and an executive administrator overseeing the THPO, should make clear that any outsider perception of a monolithic “Native perspective” is illusory. There are diverse opinions about topics as central to tribal historic preservation as the value of archaeology, the role of the THPO, NAGPRA issues, consultations, and even tribal sovereignty. A fascinating example can be found in Executive Administrator Danny Tommie's perspective on tribal sovereignty, compared with the perspectives of THPO Director Paul N. Backhouse and Professor Emeritus Brent R. Weisman in their respective chapters.

Many of the remaining chapters are case studies and summaries of typical activities undertaken by the Seminole THPO. These are particularly impactful because of their straightforward, “warts and all” delivery. Chapters by Bradley M. Mueller, Domonique deBeaubein and Kate Macuen, and Eric Griffis, Jeffrey W. Sepanski, and Jack Chalfant are written by the people who actually do the work of compliance reviews, NAGPRA consultations, and archaeological investigations on behalf of and with the Seminole people. These are refreshing perspectives, particularly when the realities of coping with over 2000 compliance requests a year while shorthanded or explaining the role of archaeology to a justifiably weary tribal member are coupled with allusions to the rewards and satisfaction to be gained by working with (and not on) the Seminole. The chapter by GIS specialist Juan J. Cancel and Paul Backhouse is jargon-free and one of the best examples I've read of how a technology should be applied to community needs and concerns. Archaeometry is a means to “begin a dialogue” with users, managers, and tribal members, not to obfuscate or silo data and information. Chapters by Maureen Mahoney as well as Matthew Fenno, Karen Brunso, and Jessica Freeman merge history, archaeology, and personal interviews to document and interpret an important cultural resource found across Seminole lands: the camp. The appendix is the Seminole's Cultural Resource Ordinance, a potential model for other tribal organizations seeking to begin or improve their historic preservation activities.

This volume is part blueprint, part best practices, and part perceptions/perspectives on native historic preservation. It is smartly bound and appropriately illustrated. Endnotes and references follow each chapter, making each contribution a stand-alone document. The strength of these works, however, comes from their collection into this single tome. I, for one, will be adding this to the required reading list for the next offering of my Historic Preservation Policies in Archaeology course.