Clare V. McKanna Jr. (1935–2012) was a lecturer in history and American Indian Studies at San Diego State University. He is the author of Homicide, Race, and Justice in the American West, 1880–1920 and Race and Homicide in Nineteenth-Century California.

"The Trial of 'Indian Joe' is a scholarly monograph that reads sometimes like a whodunit and sometimes like a courtroom thriller. . . . [B]y book's end, the author has aroused our sympathies for Gabriel, noting that the very name bestowed upon him, 'Indian Joe,' conveyed the stereotypes . . . that afflicted Native Americans in California. . . . Recent events in California politics remind us that Native Americans are still being marginalized and victimized."—Los Angeles Times "McKanna very skillfully weaves the extensive trial transcript into a highly readable narrative while at the same time injecting very interesting information on capital punishment, juries, judges, and even the literary treatment of Indians. . . . This is high-quality history at its evidential best."—John R. Wunder, author of Retained by the People: A History of American Indians and the Bill of Rights "Nearly everyone loves a murder mystery. Clare McKanna has written one—and it is a good read—based on newspaper accounts and trial transcripts, featuring a double murder on Otay Mesa in San Diego County in 1892. . . . McKanna does an excellent job contextualizing the murders: San Diego County of the 1890s, the life of Indian laborers, and Gabriel's background in Baja, are well described. Moreover, he offers the reader a primer on crime scene investigation and legal strategies of criminal defense."—Roger D. McGrath, Western Historical Quarterly

Clare V. McKanna Jr. (1935–2012) was a lecturer in history and American Indian Studies at San Diego State University. He is the author of Homicide, Race, and Justice in the American West, 1880–1920 and Race and Homicide in Nineteenth-Century California.

"The Trial of 'Indian Joe' is a scholarly monograph that reads sometimes like a whodunit and sometimes like a courtroom thriller. . . . [B]y book's end, the author has aroused our sympathies for Gabriel, noting that the very name bestowed upon him, 'Indian Joe,' conveyed the stereotypes . . . that afflicted Native Americans in California. . . . Recent events in California politics remind us that Native Americans are still being marginalized and victimized."—Los Angeles Times "McKanna very skillfully weaves the extensive trial transcript into a highly readable narrative while at the same time injecting very interesting information on capital punishment, juries, judges, and even the literary treatment of Indians. . . . This is high-quality history at its evidential best."—John R. Wunder, author of Retained by the People: A History of American Indians and the Bill of Rights "Nearly everyone loves a murder mystery. Clare McKanna has written one—and it is a good read—based on newspaper accounts and trial transcripts, featuring a double murder on Otay Mesa in San Diego County in 1892. . . . McKanna does an excellent job contextualizing the murders: San Diego County of the 1890s, the life of Indian laborers, and Gabriel's background in Baja, are well described. Moreover, he offers the reader a primer on crime scene investigation and legal strategies of criminal defense."—Roger D. McGrath, Western Historical Quarterly

Clare V. McKanna Jr. (1935–2012) was a lecturer in history and American Indian Studies at San Diego State University. He is the author of Homicide, Race, and Justice in the American West, 1880–1920 and Race and Homicide in Nineteenth-Century California.

"The Trial of 'Indian Joe' is a scholarly monograph that reads sometimes like a whodunit and sometimes like a courtroom thriller. . . . [B]y book's end, the author has aroused our sympathies for Gabriel, noting that the very name bestowed upon him, 'Indian Joe,' conveyed the stereotypes . . . that afflicted Native Americans in California. . . . Recent events in California politics remind us that Native Americans are still being marginalized and victimized."—Los Angeles Times "McKanna very skillfully weaves the extensive trial transcript into a highly readable narrative while at the same time injecting very interesting information on capital punishment, juries, judges, and even the literary treatment of Indians. . . . This is high-quality history at its evidential best."—John R. Wunder, author of Retained by the People: A History of American Indians and the Bill of Rights "Nearly everyone loves a murder mystery. Clare McKanna has written one—and it is a good read—based on newspaper accounts and trial transcripts, featuring a double murder on Otay Mesa in San Diego County in 1892. . . . McKanna does an excellent job contextualizing the murders: San Diego County of the 1890s, the life of Indian laborers, and Gabriel's background in Baja, are well described. Moreover, he offers the reader a primer on crime scene investigation and legal strategies of criminal defense."—Roger D. McGrath, Western Historical Quarterly