Thanks for digging into this, Jill. It's a revealing bit of history about how easily the Native presence on this continent was erased, and how hard it is to unearth the real stories behind the official accounts (the conquerers always get to write the history they prefer).
The erasures, the forgetting, the whitewashing of the past are revealed by returning to those original primary documents created by the "freeholders" (how the white settlers referred to themselves). I continue to be surprised by all the myth-making that ensued.
I don't think the myth-making is so surprising: our memories and our stories are created to serve our interests, after all. Especially when there is ambiguity and perhaps even submerged guilt about our actions.
I remember reading some of the writings of Anne Firor Scott that revealed stories written by Southern women in their diaries quietly expressing their objections to their husbands owning of slaves. We generally assume that these Southern women did not intend for there to be any "public" readings of their diary entries, but eventually what they wrote was exposed. It makes me wonder if any of homesteader women kept diaries or private writings or letters that provide some clues to the mysteries you keep identifying. If the Indian children did attend this school and had experiences similar to other Indian children sent away to boarding schools, I rather doubt the accounts would be "pleasant". I would assume the general disregard that many homesteader people had for the Indian population would have been transported into the schools. I hope you will find more about this in your research.
Your suggestion is a good one and now I'm going to keep my eyes open for pioneer women's accounts; diaries, journals, letters, personal memoirs. I did not know about the work of Anne Firor Scott (though I should since she is a historian from Georgia). Which of her books would you recommend?
So I want to back up a little from my statement about women and their diaries, to say that I read a wonderful recent piece in the NYRB: An Entry of One’s Own by Kathryn Hughes
"A collection of excerpts from women’s diaries written over the past four centuries offers a vast range of human experience and a subtle counter history."
October 3, 2024 issue She explains that "some" diary writers were quite hopeful that their diaries would be read.
Thanks, Margaret. I'll look for this piece. And I'm going to be coming back to this question of what happened to Naymaypoke's land next week with some important new discoveries.
You are really bring to life this particular part of US history in a way that hasn't happened for me before. It reminds me of when l visited Ireland, and how when l left after a few weeks l felt a much more "flesh and blood" sense of what had happened there historically than l'd ever had from reading a history book. The way you write makes me feel like I'm "seeing with my own eyes." Thank you for the work you are doing here, Jill!
It is encouraging to me as a writer to hear such heartwarming feedback. Thank you. And I'd love to hear about your visit to Ireland and how it changed your understanding of Ireland's history. Are you Irish? Did they emigrate to the US? Did you ever read Noel Ignatiev's How the Irish Became White?
I am part Irish as well as German and English - my ancestors mostly came from Germany, but l have always felt an affinity with Ireland, maybe partly because of my red-headed grandmother. When l visited there, it became clear to me that history was the story of real people's lives in a way l hadn't realized before. I haven't read the book you mention, but want to now!
A red-headed grandmother! I can see the attraction then to that Irish ancestry. History comes to life when we see the past in the lives of people living now.
I wish more people were open to reading about the actual history of the United States. But people seem to like to pretend it "never happened" or they spin some tale that is less detrimental to the reputation of the abusers and "winners." I'm glad you are sharing your findings. The truth always comes out.
I'm guilty myself of this forgetting of history I lived through. In the recent film Bad River I was reminded of the Walleye Wars of Wisconsin (1973-1991) which involved white racist attacks against Ojibway who exercised their treaty rights to fish. I lived through the times when "Save a Walleye, Spear an Indian" and "Kill A Pregnant Squaw and Save Two Walleye" were common epithets. I had forgotten how much hostility and violence there had been for much of my early adulthood. As though it had never happened. How could I forget? (because I had the privilege to forget.)
Thank you, Jill, and thank you, Barb. Yes, the conquerers alway get to write the history and say it's true, whether it is or not. I'll be interested in your next findings and article about them. This is challenging work!
Scott was born April 24, 1921, in Montezuma, Georgia.[4] In 1941 she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Georgia.[citation needed] She then worked for the National League of Women Voters in Washington, D.C.[3] She earned a master's degree in political science from Northwestern University in 1944. She married Andrew MacKay Scott in 1947. She then began her doctoral studies at Radcliffe College, Harvard University, while raising their children, a daughter and two sons.[citation needed]
Definitely I believe pioneer women's accounts would be valuable reads, especially those of pioneer women who resided in areas where there is a notable Indian presence. Also, if there are writings from any of the teachers in these schools, they also might be good resources.
This, “Mr. Dreveau F. Begg worked for the school district as the caretaker of the school building and grounds. I wonder what his relationship to Naymaypoke may have been and how he happened to have learned to speak the Ojibway language.” curious if there are any relatives from this family or anything further given interpreters were known to skew facts.
I'm curious too and have begun to ask about Mr. Begg and I am searching to find out more. He is certainly a surprise character in this important historical scene. So many important documents and treaties were signed with an X and later a thumbprint if they didn't speak or write English. So much can be lost in translation. And I think the recent case of a baseball player's interpreter might be on a lot of people's minds.
Thanks for digging into this, Jill. It's a revealing bit of history about how easily the Native presence on this continent was erased, and how hard it is to unearth the real stories behind the official accounts (the conquerers always get to write the history they prefer).
The erasures, the forgetting, the whitewashing of the past are revealed by returning to those original primary documents created by the "freeholders" (how the white settlers referred to themselves). I continue to be surprised by all the myth-making that ensued.
I don't think the myth-making is so surprising: our memories and our stories are created to serve our interests, after all. Especially when there is ambiguity and perhaps even submerged guilt about our actions.
I remember reading some of the writings of Anne Firor Scott that revealed stories written by Southern women in their diaries quietly expressing their objections to their husbands owning of slaves. We generally assume that these Southern women did not intend for there to be any "public" readings of their diary entries, but eventually what they wrote was exposed. It makes me wonder if any of homesteader women kept diaries or private writings or letters that provide some clues to the mysteries you keep identifying. If the Indian children did attend this school and had experiences similar to other Indian children sent away to boarding schools, I rather doubt the accounts would be "pleasant". I would assume the general disregard that many homesteader people had for the Indian population would have been transported into the schools. I hope you will find more about this in your research.
Your suggestion is a good one and now I'm going to keep my eyes open for pioneer women's accounts; diaries, journals, letters, personal memoirs. I did not know about the work of Anne Firor Scott (though I should since she is a historian from Georgia). Which of her books would you recommend?
So I want to back up a little from my statement about women and their diaries, to say that I read a wonderful recent piece in the NYRB: An Entry of One’s Own by Kathryn Hughes
"A collection of excerpts from women’s diaries written over the past four centuries offers a vast range of human experience and a subtle counter history."
October 3, 2024 issue She explains that "some" diary writers were quite hopeful that their diaries would be read.
Thanks, Margaret. I'll look for this piece. And I'm going to be coming back to this question of what happened to Naymaypoke's land next week with some important new discoveries.
You are really bring to life this particular part of US history in a way that hasn't happened for me before. It reminds me of when l visited Ireland, and how when l left after a few weeks l felt a much more "flesh and blood" sense of what had happened there historically than l'd ever had from reading a history book. The way you write makes me feel like I'm "seeing with my own eyes." Thank you for the work you are doing here, Jill!
It is encouraging to me as a writer to hear such heartwarming feedback. Thank you. And I'd love to hear about your visit to Ireland and how it changed your understanding of Ireland's history. Are you Irish? Did they emigrate to the US? Did you ever read Noel Ignatiev's How the Irish Became White?
I am part Irish as well as German and English - my ancestors mostly came from Germany, but l have always felt an affinity with Ireland, maybe partly because of my red-headed grandmother. When l visited there, it became clear to me that history was the story of real people's lives in a way l hadn't realized before. I haven't read the book you mention, but want to now!
A red-headed grandmother! I can see the attraction then to that Irish ancestry. History comes to life when we see the past in the lives of people living now.
I wish more people were open to reading about the actual history of the United States. But people seem to like to pretend it "never happened" or they spin some tale that is less detrimental to the reputation of the abusers and "winners." I'm glad you are sharing your findings. The truth always comes out.
I'm guilty myself of this forgetting of history I lived through. In the recent film Bad River I was reminded of the Walleye Wars of Wisconsin (1973-1991) which involved white racist attacks against Ojibway who exercised their treaty rights to fish. I lived through the times when "Save a Walleye, Spear an Indian" and "Kill A Pregnant Squaw and Save Two Walleye" were common epithets. I had forgotten how much hostility and violence there had been for much of my early adulthood. As though it had never happened. How could I forget? (because I had the privilege to forget.)
Thank you, Jill, and thank you, Barb. Yes, the conquerers alway get to write the history and say it's true, whether it is or not. I'll be interested in your next findings and article about them. This is challenging work!
Stay tuned! and thanks for reading.
Scott was born April 24, 1921, in Montezuma, Georgia.[4] In 1941 she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Georgia.[citation needed] She then worked for the National League of Women Voters in Washington, D.C.[3] She earned a master's degree in political science from Northwestern University in 1944. She married Andrew MacKay Scott in 1947. She then began her doctoral studies at Radcliffe College, Harvard University, while raising their children, a daughter and two sons.[citation needed]
Definitely I believe pioneer women's accounts would be valuable reads, especially those of pioneer women who resided in areas where there is a notable Indian presence. Also, if there are writings from any of the teachers in these schools, they also might be good resources.
Thanks for the helpful suggestions.
The Southern Lady: From Pedestal to Politics, 1830-1930
Thank you! I'm going to take a look.
This, “Mr. Dreveau F. Begg worked for the school district as the caretaker of the school building and grounds. I wonder what his relationship to Naymaypoke may have been and how he happened to have learned to speak the Ojibway language.” curious if there are any relatives from this family or anything further given interpreters were known to skew facts.
I'm curious too and have begun to ask about Mr. Begg and I am searching to find out more. He is certainly a surprise character in this important historical scene. So many important documents and treaties were signed with an X and later a thumbprint if they didn't speak or write English. So much can be lost in translation. And I think the recent case of a baseball player's interpreter might be on a lot of people's minds.