The fourteen original essays in Navigating Souths articulate questions about the significances of the South as a theoretical and literal "home" base for social science and humanities researchers. They also examine challenges faced by researchers who identify as southern studies scholars.

Argues that popular misconceptions of Native American identity in the US South can be understood by tracing how non-Native audiences in the region came to imagine indigeneity through the presentation of specious histories presented in regional literary texts.