The first paths to freedom taken by runaway slaves led to Native American villages, where black men and women found acceptance and friendship among our country's original inhabitants. And though they are rarely mentioned in textbooks and movies, the children of Native and African -American marriages helped to shape the early days of the fur trade, added a new dimension to frontier diplomacy, and made a daring contribution to the fight for American liberty. 254 pages including index, soft cover. ISBN 9781442446373.