Thank you Jill for this detailed history and reexamination of what we’ve been told. Can you say a bit more about what it means that “Minnesota diminished Red Lake Reservation?” By how much?
Thanks Heidi for the question. Under the 1902 "Dead Indian Act" expanding the policy of allotments created under the Dawes Act of 1887, Minnesota redrew the northern boundary of Red Lake Reservation about 100 south to Upper Red Lake, diminishing the reservation in square miles by nearly half. This opened up unallotted lands to homesteaders like my great-grandparents who arrived in 1903. Back in November 2023 in a post about Kakakygeesick's allotment, I included a map of the original reservation lands and those ceded. https://jillswenson.substack.com/p/allotment-3
Can’t hit the like button but Minnesota could sure stand to return more land with this as an argument in part. And was upper Red Lake taken at that time?
I'm hooked! I look forward to reading more about what you uncover and what really happened. And if you cannot find the exact historical documents, there may be enough context clues and personal knowledge to draw pretty accurate inferences
Once again, thank you for this and the research you're doing! l was looking through some things saved from my childhood yesterday and found a construction paper notebook containing "a historical cantata" called, Our Country Tis of Thee, which l think we performed at our school when l was in the sixth grade. I read through it and was newly horrified to see the language. It was focused almost totally on men's contributions to the early history of America - hardly a word about women - and of course several lines dedicated to this kind of thing: "We're growing up fast, got a mill and an inn and a church and a tavern and a sheriff and a jail. Over the plains through buffalo country; Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, too. Fighting off Injuns, Pawnee, Shawnee, Comanche, Apache, Chippewa, Sioux." Eventually it gets to the Civil War, and then the point where women are demanding to be able to vote, but not a word more about American Indians, their rights, their sufferings, or any acknowledgment of them except as a group of people to be conquered. I'm glad things have evolved since then but obviously not enough. Thank you for your work.
How fun to find your sixth-grade notebook with the historical cantata. What an interesting reality check on what we learned as kids about American history. I remember rereading the Little House on the Prairie series as an adult and being similarly shocked at the language I found there (only good Injun is a dead Injun). It's a reminder of how our stories about the past change and how they often tell us more about the time in which such things were created rather than the past they attempt to recreate.
Thanks, Annie, for your enthusiasm. The penmanship makes the pace of this work slow and careful. Still an incomplete picture from school board records, but I am making some progress. It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle except there are no border pieces or corners.
I think I might consider the "legend" or the "story" more likely if you found records of Indian children attending the school earlier. Otherwise, I think it is more likely as was true with the Cherokees in Georgia that the white population really worked to make them disappear.
I keep looking for more evidence of Indian student enrollment in the early years. I have only found one secondary source which made reference to the 1898 remarks by the schoolteacher Mrs. Gilbertson that several Indian students were enrolled then. I hope to share more of what I've found about student enrollment soon.
Thank you Jill for this detailed history and reexamination of what we’ve been told. Can you say a bit more about what it means that “Minnesota diminished Red Lake Reservation?” By how much?
Thanks Heidi for the question. Under the 1902 "Dead Indian Act" expanding the policy of allotments created under the Dawes Act of 1887, Minnesota redrew the northern boundary of Red Lake Reservation about 100 south to Upper Red Lake, diminishing the reservation in square miles by nearly half. This opened up unallotted lands to homesteaders like my great-grandparents who arrived in 1903. Back in November 2023 in a post about Kakakygeesick's allotment, I included a map of the original reservation lands and those ceded. https://jillswenson.substack.com/p/allotment-3
Can’t hit the like button but Minnesota could sure stand to return more land with this as an argument in part. And was upper Red Lake taken at that time?
Red Lake has begun the process of reclaiming unceded land. Most recently last month. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/03/12/bill-calls-for-return-to-upper-red-lake-to-red-lake-nation
I'm hooked! I look forward to reading more about what you uncover and what really happened. And if you cannot find the exact historical documents, there may be enough context clues and personal knowledge to draw pretty accurate inferences
Once again, thank you for this and the research you're doing! l was looking through some things saved from my childhood yesterday and found a construction paper notebook containing "a historical cantata" called, Our Country Tis of Thee, which l think we performed at our school when l was in the sixth grade. I read through it and was newly horrified to see the language. It was focused almost totally on men's contributions to the early history of America - hardly a word about women - and of course several lines dedicated to this kind of thing: "We're growing up fast, got a mill and an inn and a church and a tavern and a sheriff and a jail. Over the plains through buffalo country; Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, too. Fighting off Injuns, Pawnee, Shawnee, Comanche, Apache, Chippewa, Sioux." Eventually it gets to the Civil War, and then the point where women are demanding to be able to vote, but not a word more about American Indians, their rights, their sufferings, or any acknowledgment of them except as a group of people to be conquered. I'm glad things have evolved since then but obviously not enough. Thank you for your work.
How fun to find your sixth-grade notebook with the historical cantata. What an interesting reality check on what we learned as kids about American history. I remember rereading the Little House on the Prairie series as an adult and being similarly shocked at the language I found there (only good Injun is a dead Injun). It's a reminder of how our stories about the past change and how they often tell us more about the time in which such things were created rather than the past they attempt to recreate.
Such a great insight - that these things tell us more about the time such things were created than the actual past!
Fascinating! I'm enjoying reading about how you are making connections in areas that have not been researched before. It's inspiring!
Thanks, Sharon. Glad to hear this inspires!
Good story and good lesson about tropes.
I'm eager for what you find out next!
Thanks, Annie, for your enthusiasm. The penmanship makes the pace of this work slow and careful. Still an incomplete picture from school board records, but I am making some progress. It's a bit like a jigsaw puzzle except there are no border pieces or corners.
I think I might consider the "legend" or the "story" more likely if you found records of Indian children attending the school earlier. Otherwise, I think it is more likely as was true with the Cherokees in Georgia that the white population really worked to make them disappear.
I keep looking for more evidence of Indian student enrollment in the early years. I have only found one secondary source which made reference to the 1898 remarks by the schoolteacher Mrs. Gilbertson that several Indian students were enrolled then. I hope to share more of what I've found about student enrollment soon.