August 2024: Native Americans, First Nations & Indigenous Peoples

Native Americans, First Nations and Indigenous Peoples populated the August 2024 meeting.  The selections presented covered both Native American tribes in the United States and First Nations tribes in Canada through a mixture of nonfiction and fiction and ranged from the American frontier to modern times.  Representation is important, and one-third of the books were written by authors who identify as Native American or indigenous.  Several of the other books draw heavily, if not exclusively, from written accounts and oral histories in indigenous voices.  Most of the books shown contained positive depictions of Native Americans or neutral accounts of historic events; only one heavily leaned into the dominant racist stereotypes of the time in which it was written.

Nonfiction

An Account of the Life of the Reverend Mr. David Brainerd

Edwards, Jonathan.  An Account of the Life of the Reverend Mr. David Brainerd, Minister of the Gospel, Missionary to the Indians, from the Honourable Society in Scotland, for the Propagation of the Christian Knowledge, and Pastor of the Church of Christian Indians in New Jersey.  Boston: D. Henchman, 1749.  David Brainerd (1718 – 1747) was a Presbyterian minister and a missionary to the Native Americans and Delaware Indians of New Jersey, supported by the Scottish Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge.  When Brainard was expelled from Yale because of a lack of spiritual enthusiasm—likely the result of fatigue caused by tuberculosis—Jonathan Dickinson, a Presbyterian minister in New Jersey, encouraged Brainerd to do missionary work among the Native Americans.  He entered the mission in 1743 and ministered to the Mohican and Delaware tribes in the Northeast until 1746, when he became too ill to continue serving.  In frail health, Brainerd moved into Dickinson's home for a short time, then into Jonathan Edwards' home until his death from tuberculosis in October 1747 at the age of 29.  Using Brainerd's diary and private writings, Edwards constructed An Account of the Life of the Reverend Mr. David Brainerd.  The biography focuses on Brainerd's ministry among the Delaware Indians of New Jersey, but Edwards made some substantial changes to Brainerd's diary to reflect Edwards' own Arminian theological viewpoint.

The Journals of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark

Lewis, Meriwether, William Clark, and Nicholas Biddle, ed.  The Journals of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark.  New York: The Heritage Press, 1962.  Two volumes.  Lewis and Clark's account of their expedition through the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Northwest was originally published in 1814 as the History of the Expedition Under the Commands of Captains Lewis and Clark after the journals were edited and narrativized by Nicholas Biddle.  The journal was republished in 1904-1905 by Reuben Gold Thwaites as the Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, adding back in the full extent of the scientific discoveries of flora and fauna made by the expedition but omitted by Biddle.  The journals describe the trip across the Rocky Mountains and down the river Columbia to the Pacific Ocean and the expedition's return to St. Louis from 1804 through 1806.  The journals are filled with vivid tales of their times spent with many Native American tribes, including the Shoshone, Pawnee, Skilloot, Clatsop, Wahkiacum, Neerchokio, Yehugh, Weoksockwillakum, Willetpos, Minnetaree, and Blackfoot.  Lewis and Clark were guided in their expedition by Sacajawea, a Lemhi-Shoshone woman who had been sold to a Canadian trapper at age 12.  The trapper was hired by Lewis and Clark to help communicate with the native Indians; he brought Sacajawea along for her memory of the countryside and her language skills.  She proved instrumental to the success of the expedition and the survival of the explorers.

Color plate from Lewis & Clark

A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison

Seaver, James.  A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, Who Was Taken by the Indians, in the Year 1755.  Howden, England: R. Parkin, 1826.  The full title of this biography may describe it best:

A narrative of the life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, who was taken by the Indians, in the year 1755, when only about twelve years of age, and has continued to reside amongst them to the present time.  Contains an account of the murder of her family and his family; her sufferings; her marriage to two Indians; her troubles with her children; barbarities of the Indians in the French and Revolutionary wars; the life of her last husband; and many historical facts never before published.  Carefully taken from her own words, Nov. 29th, 1823.  To which is added, an appendix, containing an account of the tragedy at the Devil's Hole, in 1763, and of Sullivan's Expedition; the traditions, manners, customs, etc., of the Indians, as believed and practiced at the present day, and since Mrs. Jemison's captivity; together with some anecdotes, and other entertaining matter.

These salacious accounts of life in the United States, especially encounters with the American Indians, were wildly popular in England at the time.  Books such as this formed a distinctive genre in Western literature known as "captivity narratives," when European explorers and colonizers recorded tales of capture and return, especially within the context of warfare.  The books were cheaply printed for mass distribution and are difficult to find today in any condition.

Indian Wars of the United States

Moore, William V.  Indian Wars of the United States: From the Discovery to the Present Time, with Accounts of the Origin, Manners, Superstitions, Etc., of the Aborigines, from the Best Authorities.  Philadelphia: J. &. J. L. Gihon, 1851.  First published in 1840.  William V. Moore is an alias for John Frost, historian and author of The Indian: On the Battle-Field and in the Wigwam (1857, as Frost), Heroic Women of the West (1854, as Frost), Heroes and Hunters of the West (1853, published anonymously), and History of the State of California (1851, as Frost).  Frost was often criticized for "pilfering" texts as opposed to writing original content, which may explain why his questionably plagiarized works were published anonymously or under a pseudonym.  In Indian Wars of the United States, Frost considers twenty-two distinct war campaigns with Native American tribes which he "deemed of sufficient importance, in their nature or results, to claim a place in general history."  Before providing an overview of each of these Indian wars, Frost introduces the reader to the Indians of North America by embracing the racist stereotypes of Native American's origins and languages, skin color, savage nature, "sorcery" and indigenous medicine, and even their primitive sexual nature.  His portrait of American Indians as "savages… who live in a rude and dirty manner" serves as his justification for the "European race" declaring war against them.

Color plate from Indian Wars of the United States

 

Geronimo: His Own Story

Geronimo and S. M. Barrett, ed.  Geronimo: His Own Story.  New York: E. P. Dutton, 1970.  First published in 1906 by S. M. Barrett, newly edited with an introduction and notes by Fredrick W. Turner, III.  Geronimo ("One Who Yawns") lived from 1829 to 1909.  He was a prominent Apache medicine man and leader from 1850 to 1886.  He was captured by the Army in 1886 and remained a prisoner of war until his death at Fort Sill in 1909.  During 1905 and 1906, Barrett, a school superintendent in Lawton, Oklahoma, recorded many hours of conversations with Geronimo through a native interpreter which form the basis for this transcribed autobiography.  Because Geronimo was designated as a prisoner of war, Barrett made appeals to the government, all the way up the chain of command to President Teddy Roosevelt, for permission to record the "Indian outlaw."  Geronimo came to each interview knowing exactly what parts of his life he wanted to cover.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Brown, Dee.  Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West.  New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1970.  Brown documents many of the battles between Indian tribes and the US Army in the second half of the 19th century.  The book highlights the systematic efforts of the US government to annihilate the Native American population.  Dee uses tribal council records and firsthand descriptions to allow the chiefs and warriors of the Dakota, Ute, Sioux, Cheyenne, and other tribes to tell in their own words of the battles, massacres, and broken treaties which finally left them demoralized and defeated.

Brown's motivation for researching and writing this book came from a paradigm shift he experienced as a teenager.  As a teen, he spent extensive time at his local public library reading through The Journals of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark (above).  During that time, he also made the acquaintance of Chief Yellow Horse, a professional baseball pitcher, who was kind to him at Arkansas Travelers baseball games.  These experiences, along with a childhood friendship with a Creek boy, compelled him to reject the dominant stereotypes of Native Americans as primitive and violent.  This perspective guided Brown's approach to Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

The Memoirs of Chief Red Fox

Chief Red Fox.  The Memoirs of Chief Red Fox.  New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1971.  Introduction by Cash Asher.  Chief William Red Fox (1870 – 1976) was an Oglala-Lakota and Sioux performer and Indian rights advocate.  He was a nephew of the Lakota war leader Crazy Horse and was regarded as an authority on the historic Little Bighorn massacre.  For many years, he participated in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, as both a performer and a translator and manager for the Native Americans in the troupe.  In The Memoirs of Chief Red Fox, he not only tells his own story but relates his personal experiences to the larger struggle of Native Americans fighting for their rights and identity.  This copy is signed on the half title page by Chief Red Fox.

DeGrazia Paints the Apache Indians

DeGrazia, Ettore.  DeGrazia Paints the Apache Indians and Myths of the Chiricahua Apaches.  Tucson: De Grazia Gallery in the Sun, 1976.  Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia was an American impressionist best known for his images of Native Americans of the American Southwest.  He was born in 1909 in the Arizona Territory before it achieved statehood in 1912.  In 1925, he painted his first painting, "Indian Faces," at age 16.  This collection of Native American images contains the artist's impressions of the Apache Indians as the were before the white man invaded their hunting grounds.  This copy is inscribed by the artist on the front free end paper.

DeGrazia images "Apache Brave" and "Apache Maiden"

Native American Religions

Carmody, Denise Lardner and John Tully Carmody.  Native American Religions: An Introduction.  Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1993.  This book surveys the religious and spiritual lives of Native Americans across North, Central, and South America.  It groups thirty-five distinct tribes into seven geographical areas and explores the historical and geographical backgrounds of these groups of tribes.  The authors also consider Native American views on nature, social thought, and the concept of the self as well as explore key issues and values such as gender, marriage, death, and spirituality.

Image from Native American Religions

The Wars of the Pacific Northwest

Cozzens, Peter, ed.  The Wars of the Pacific Northwest: Volume Two – The Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars, 1865 – 1890.  Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002.  The five-volume The Wars of the Pacific Northwest tells the saga of the struggles of the Native Americans and the US military in the late 19th century.  Volume Two covers the time after the American Civil War and the tragedy at Wounded Knee, including five distinct conflicts: the Snake-Paiute War (1866-1872), the Modoc War (1872-1873), the Nex Perce Campaign (1877), the Bannock War (1878), and the Sheepeater Campaign (1879).  Cozzens compiles primary sources, including contemporary newspapers and magazines, unpublished manuscripts, and firsthand accounts from participants in the conflicts, including Chief Joseph and Yellow Bull.

 

Fiction

House Made of Dawn

Momaday, N. Scott.  House Made of Dawn.  New York: Harper & Row, 1968.  First edition.  Momaday was born in Oklahoma in 1934, but his Kiowa/Cherokee family moved to Arizona in 1935 and then to New Mexico in the 1940s.  While attending the University of Virginia in the late 1950s he became friends with William Faulkner.  Faulkner had a major influence on Momaday’s writing.  When House Made of Dawn was published, Momaday's first novel was hailed as " a masterpiece of Native American literature" (The Paris Review).  The story follows Abel, a young Native American, who comes home from war to find himself caught between two worlds: the traditional Native American world of his father and the modern world of industrial America.  Abel is torn between the rites and traditions of his people and the compulsions and lures of modern life.  House Made of Dawn was awarded the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Dance Me Outside

Kinsella, W. P.  Dance Me Outside: More Tales from The Ermineskin Reserve.  Boston: David R. Godine, 1986.  Kinsella was a Canadian novelist and short story writer who often highlighted First Nations people and Canadian culture in his stories.  Dance Me Outside is a collection of short stories first published in 1977.  The seventeen stories are set on a Cree Indian reserve near Hobbema in Central Alberta and recount the lives of the people living on the reserve.  The stories were adapted to a film of the same name in 1995, and a television series called The Rez in 1996.  This copy is inscribed by the author on the title page.

Tracks

Erdrich, Louise.  Tracks.  New York: Henry Holt, 1988.  Erdrich is a Native American writer whose novels, poems, and children's books feature Native American settings and characters.  She is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota, a federally recognized tribe of Ojibwe people.  She is a prominent, influential writer of the Native American Renaissance, a movement of increased production of literary works by Native Americans in the United States in the late 1960s and onward.  Tracks is the third book in the Love Medicine series, a collection of stories following the lives of five interconnected families living on Ojibwe reservations in Noth Dakota and Minnesota. 

The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon

Spanbauer, Tom.  The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon.  New York: Grove Press, 1991.  Spanbauer is a novelist who writes in first-person lyrical prose and explores issues of race and sexuality.  He was born and raised in Idaho and after two years in Kenya with the Peace Corps, returned to Idaho State University to work as a counselor and advisor to the student Indian Club.  He met and developed a close relationship with a two-spirit Shoshone-Métis tribal leader; they became blood brothers.  Spanbauer's relationship with his blood brother had a profound effect on his life and heavily influenced The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon.  The novel's narrator and protagonist, Shed, an orphaned half-Indian bisexual boy living and working in a brothel in Idaho in the 1880s, recounts his quest to learn more about his mother, her tribe, and the meaning of his Indian name.  He learns about his berdache (two-spirit) identity but little more about his mother before returning to the brothel.  Only after life at the brothel takes a series of tragic turns for the worse for all who live there does Shed finally uncover the truth about both of his parents.

Cloud Eyes

Lasky, Kathryn.  Cloud Eyes.  San Diego: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1994.  Illustrated by Barry Moser.  Cloud Eyes, a young Native American boy, is on a quest to find and bring honey back to the lodges of his people.  He is a dreamer but accepts the reality that he is his tribe's only hope for locating the essential honey.

Illustration by Barry Moser

Coyote Blue

Moore, Christopher.  Coyote Blue.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.  Samson Hunts Alone, a fifteen-year-old boy forced to flee his Crow reservation after a deadly misunderstanding with the law, becomes Samuel Hunter, an adult yuppie insurance salesman.  His life is going well—except maybe his love life—until he is confronted by Coyote, the Indian trickster god, with his buried life and his status as a Native American outlaw.

The Wind in His Heart

de Lint, Charles.  The Wind in His Heart.  Hornsea, England: PS Publishing Co., 2018.  De Lint is a Canadian novelist who primarily writes contemporary fantasy fiction in which the natural and supernatural co-exist in real-world/otherworld settings.  He often draws on Native American and indigenous cultures and folklore.  The Wind in His Heart follows four disparate characters, including Thomas Corn Eyes, an indigenous young man who can see into the otherworld and desperately wants to get off the reservation, whose lives collide in a mountainous wilderness as they each try to escape their pasts and create a new future for themselves.