American Indian Nonfiction: An Anthology of Writings, 1760s-1930s

413 Pages·2007·1.34 MB·English

by  Bernd C. Peyer

AMERICAN INDIAN NONFICTION
Also by Bernd C. Peyer
Hyemeyohsts Storm’s Seven Arrows: Fiction and Anthropology in the Native American
Novel(Wiesbaden, 1979)
(ed.) The Elders Wrote: An Anthology of Early Prose by North American Indians,
1768–1931(Berlin, 1982)
(with Peter Bolz) Indianische Kunst Nordamerikas(Köln, 1987)
(ed.) The Singing Spirit: Early Short Stories by North American Indians(Tucson, 1989)
Hildebrand’s Urlaubsführer: Dominikanische Republik(Frankfurt, 1991)
The Tutor’d Mind: Indian Missionary-Authors in Antebellum America(Amherst, 1997)
American Indian
Nonfiction
An Anthology of Writings,
1760s–1930s
Edited by Bernd C. Peyer
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS
Norman
To David Risling, Jr. (Hoopa, 1921–2005).
A soft voice that carried far.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
American Indian nonfiction : an anthology of writings, 1760s–1930s / edited by Bernd C.
Peyer.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-8061-3708-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. American prose literature—Indian
authors—History and criticism. 2. Indians of North America—Intellectual life.
3. Indians of North America—Historiography. 4. Indians in literature. I. Peyer,
Bernd.
PS153.I52A44 2007
810.8′0897073—dc22 2006026610
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Com-
mittee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources,
Inc. ∞
Copyright © 2007 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of
the University. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Introduction 3
Northeast: The New England Indians
“A Short Narrative of my Life” (1768) 43
“Beloved Brethren” (1776) 50
Samson Occom Biography 52
“Speeches to the Oneidas” (1774) 55
Joseph Johnson Biography 61
“History of the Muh-he-con-nuk Indians” (1790) 63
Hendrick Aupaumut Biography 72
“An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” (1833) 75
William Apess Biography 81
Northeast: The New York Indians
“Address on the Present Condition and Prospects
of the Original Inhabitants of North America” (1838) 87
Maris B. Pierce Biography 97
“Appeal to the Christian Community” (1841) 100
Nathaniel T. Strong Biography 109
Southeast and Indian Territory: The Five Tribes
“Extract of a Letter from Catherine Brown,
to her Brother David” (1822) 113
Catherine Brown Biography 117
“Indian Address” (1822) 119
John Ridge Biography 124
“Letter to the Editor of the Cherokee Phoenix” (1832) 127
“Resolutions of the Treaty Party” (1834) 132
Elias Boudinot Biography 135
“To the Senate and House of Representatives” (1836) 138
John Ross Biography 142
“The Cherokees, Their History—Present Condition
and Future Prospects” (1849) 145
John R. Ridge Biography 149
“Remarks of Elias C. Boudinot, of the Cherokee Nation,
in Behalf of the Bill to Organize the Territory
of Oklahoma” (1874) 153
Elias C. Boudinot Biography 160
“The Indian’s Hard Lot” (1898) 163
DeWitt Duncan Clinton Biography 169
vi CONTENTS
“Passing of Creek Lands” (1901) 171
Charles Gibson Biography 173
“Fus Fixico Letter” (1905) 174
“Fus Fixico Letter” (1906) 177
Alexander L. Posey Biography 180
“Writes on Feeding Democrats Raw Oratory
at Jackson Dinner” (1928) 184
“Story of a Misspent Boyhood” (1929) 188
Will Rogers Biography 191
Great Lakes: The Three Fires
“An Account of the Chippewa Indians, Who Have Been
Travelling Among the Whites, in the United States,
England, Ireland, Scotland, France and Belgium” (1848) 197
George Henry Biography 206
“The American Indians” (1849) 208
George Copway Biography 219
“The Death of Chief I. H. Tuttle” (1874) 223
John Johnson Biography 231
“The Red Man’s Rebuke” (1893) 233
Simon Pokagon Biography 240
“The Indian Problem, from the Indian’s Standpoint” (1900) 244
Andrew J. Blackbird Biography 253
Transregional Voices: The Society of American Indians
“Report of Colonel Parker on Indian Affairs” (1867) 257
“Letter to Harriet Maxwell Converse” (no date) 268
Ely S. Parker Biography 270
“Letter to Major Henry Douglas” (1870) 274
“Letter to Commissioner Ely S. Parker” (1870) 276
“Petition to Congress” (1883) 278
Sarah Winnemucca Biography 280
“The Indian Question” (1880) 284
Susette La Flesche Biography 286
“An Indian Allotment” (1900) 289
Francis La Flesche Biography 292
“Why I am a Pagan” (1902) 296
“America, Home of the Red Man” (1919) 300
Gertrude S. Bonnin Biography 303
“Industrial Organization for the Indian” (1912) 308
Laura C. Kellogg Biography 318
“Native Indian Art” (1912) 320
Angel De Cora Dietz Biography 325
“The Teaching of Ethnology in Indian Schools” (1913) 328
J. N. B. Hewitt Biography 333
CONTENTS vii
“The Indian Reservation System” (1913) 335
“Let My People Go” (1916) 337
“Truth is Coming to Light” (1918) 339
Carlos Montezuma Biography 341
“The Function of the Society of American Indians” (1914) 345
Sherman Coolidge Biography 349
“The Legal Status of the American Indian” (1914) 351
“The Civilizing Power of Language” (1916) 356
Arthur C. Parker Biography 358
“Justice for the Sioux” (1919) 362
“The Indian’s Plea for Freedom” (1919) 365
Charles A. Eastman Biography 368
“The New Indian Leadership” (1917) 375
John M. Oskison Biography 382
“The Future of the Red Man in America” (1924) 384
Henry Roe Cloud Biography 388
“The Tragedy of the Sioux” (1931) 391
Luther Standing Bear Biography 399

PREFACE
The list of American Indian authors included here is by no means all-encom-
passing. Many more could have been added, but the limited space allotted
compelled me to select those for whom writing was a major occupation and
who produced a substantial body of writings that found its way into print in
their own day or posthumously. I have focused on writings that reflect in some
way upon the development of Indian-white relations in the United States, or
what was once popularly referred to as “the Indian Problem.” Canadian First
Nations authors have also been included if they published in the United States
and their topic bears some relation to American Indian issues.
The first half of the anthology is subdivided according to the regional or
tribal networks in which the authors operated. The second half is dedicated to
authors who wrote on national issues, most of whom were members of the
Society of American Indians, the first national Indian intellectual network. The
individual pieces within each subdivision are presented chronologically in the
order in which they were written or published. The origin of each text is dis-
closed in an unnumbered endnote preceding numbered notes, along with due
credits and a brief comment on its importance. All texts have been left un-
edited and are presented as they appeared originally except for obvious typo-
graphical errors or where individual spellings might be mistaken for such, in
which case I have marked them with [sic]. The biographical sketches and bib-
liographical information following each author’s contributions are intended as
basic guidelines for further research. As far as the list of primary sources is
concerned, I have tried to be as inclusive as possible with authors who have
fewer known publications and more selective in the case of writers who pro-
duced more than could be included in the space allowed. Secondary sources
follow the same principle. I have opted for a variety of critical interpretations
in the case of the better known authors rather than presuming to make any
qualitative judgments concerning their “scholarly value.”
This project was made possible in part by a Deutsche Forschungs-Gemein-
schaft Research Grant in 1997–99 and a Mellon Fellowship to the Newberry
Library, Chicago, in 2000–2001. I also owe great thanks to the following indi-
viduals, listed in alphabetical order because kindness is not measurable: Colin
Calloway, Jay Dew, Jack Forbes, Steven K. Gragert, Frederick Hoxie, Alessan-
dra Jacobi, Karen Wieder, James Parins, Ross Hassig, A. La Vonne Brown Ruoff,
Donald Smith, and Rüdiger Wersich. I am especially grateful to the good
people at the Center for North American Studies (ZENAF) in Frankfurt for
their support these many years.
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