Thanks for digging this all out! Makes me grateful to have independent scholars like you working on truth telling. I just recently encountered a similar example of "encroachment" by a land speculator. It was a generation earlier and around the Omaha Reservation in eastern Nebraska, but the narrative thread and the outcome were very similar to what you've documented. I'm thinking that this is a common untold story around a lot of reservations.
Thanks, George, for reading and finding this common thread. Martin Case in THE RELENTLESS BUSINESS OF TREATIES: HOW INDIGENOUS LAND BECAME U.S. PROPERTY (MNHS 2018) describes this pattern from encroachment to Townsite Companies and land speculators.
I'd forgotten about that book! I'm going back though the passages I marked in the Kindle version. It'll be interesting to see if they "look" the same after knowing the Omaha history and your research. Maybe these are good specific examples of the more general pattern Case lays out?
Certainly variations on this theme. Often the land speculators were the same men who had been involved in negotiating the treaty or came from the fur trade where they had a good sense of the lay of the land.
Loved this, Jill. Am curious to learn more about Mr Moody. I felt, in some ways, that he represents the majority of us and life: complex and not entirely consistent. He's not terrible. He's opportunistic. We attribute virtue-vice traits to characters by the outcomes of their behavior; but sometimes those outcomes can only be known at a distant time and within the context of new norms and insights. I hope we learn more about the person and the transactions of Mr Moody. Clearcut good and bad guys are things of fairytales. My dad once said, "it's harder nowadays to know who the good and who the bad are." I argued and said it's never been easy unless you're watching a Western and even that genre now realistically blurs the lines of good and bad. My dad said "exactly." I asked him if he missed the simplicity of "cowboys and indians." He said, "only when I grow tired of myself." Which I thought was really interesting. He added, "but then I take a nap and that helps." We read your posts when he is here for dinner. But he is behind by 3. I'm curious to hear what he thinks when he is caught up. Thanks for your relentless research and for putting yet again more puzzle pieces together.
Wow! This is fascinating, and good for you for continuing to dig into the archives. Moody seems to exemplify the complexities of those who were able to take advantage of the changing conditions of the frontier and the inability of local, state or the federal government to protect the rights of Indian Country. He was clearly adventitious, but not so clearly always bad, I bet.
I'm glad to hear you find this fascinating. It has been a bit of a personal obsession to learn how the allotments came into existence. The ways in which Indigenous lands became U.S. property involved human transactions. There were no violent conflicts or wars fought between Indians and white settlers in this area during this period of encroachment like in other parts of the country. I can't help but think the place itself has something to do with it as much as the people. The remote wilderness levels everyone to the status of human beings who need each other to survive.
As Diane said, you persisted. This is quite the story. I am so glad that you are doing this challenging work, following the trail, finding the truth. Thank you, Jill.
Thanks for your persistent research. And now we're introduced to the villain--a white settler trying to get all he can from indigenous populations and take land that isn't his. It's rare to have a name, bio, and step-by-step history of the "heroes" who took the land. I'm interested in what you found next.
Hold your horses! Moody sees the land will be taken from the Indians who are his neighbors if he does not intercede. There will be plenty of land for him to sell to immigrants and homesteaders and he knows it. I'm fairly certain Mr. Moody and those who endorsed this proposal to respect the rights of the original residents thought they were doing something beneficent. And maybe they were. They were not forced from their land and relocated to lower Red Lake reservation land. To this end, they honored the spirit of the treaty to recognize their sovereignty.
Rarely is the story as black and white as the old Westerns on the television sets from our childhood. We used to be able to tell who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. It's so much more complicated than that as I am learning from digging deeper into the historical archives. Your intuition about Mr. Moody will pay off, but let's start with a trot before we gallop off to the land-boom days when my great-grandparents arrived to claim their homestead.
Thanks for digging this all out! Makes me grateful to have independent scholars like you working on truth telling. I just recently encountered a similar example of "encroachment" by a land speculator. It was a generation earlier and around the Omaha Reservation in eastern Nebraska, but the narrative thread and the outcome were very similar to what you've documented. I'm thinking that this is a common untold story around a lot of reservations.
Thanks, George, for reading and finding this common thread. Martin Case in THE RELENTLESS BUSINESS OF TREATIES: HOW INDIGENOUS LAND BECAME U.S. PROPERTY (MNHS 2018) describes this pattern from encroachment to Townsite Companies and land speculators.
I'd forgotten about that book! I'm going back though the passages I marked in the Kindle version. It'll be interesting to see if they "look" the same after knowing the Omaha history and your research. Maybe these are good specific examples of the more general pattern Case lays out?
Certainly variations on this theme. Often the land speculators were the same men who had been involved in negotiating the treaty or came from the fur trade where they had a good sense of the lay of the land.
And yet she persevered!! Bravo! This is excellent — and moody is aptly named for a villain. Congrats on connecting these dots
Moody is certainly a flawed character yet exemplifies the heroic dreams of building an American empire in the new frontier.
Loved this, Jill. Am curious to learn more about Mr Moody. I felt, in some ways, that he represents the majority of us and life: complex and not entirely consistent. He's not terrible. He's opportunistic. We attribute virtue-vice traits to characters by the outcomes of their behavior; but sometimes those outcomes can only be known at a distant time and within the context of new norms and insights. I hope we learn more about the person and the transactions of Mr Moody. Clearcut good and bad guys are things of fairytales. My dad once said, "it's harder nowadays to know who the good and who the bad are." I argued and said it's never been easy unless you're watching a Western and even that genre now realistically blurs the lines of good and bad. My dad said "exactly." I asked him if he missed the simplicity of "cowboys and indians." He said, "only when I grow tired of myself." Which I thought was really interesting. He added, "but then I take a nap and that helps." We read your posts when he is here for dinner. But he is behind by 3. I'm curious to hear what he thinks when he is caught up. Thanks for your relentless research and for putting yet again more puzzle pieces together.
I'm glad you can see Mr. Moody as flawed, yet human, like all of us. And what a delight to know you and your dad read them together. Thank you!
Great bit of info into the life of this mystery man. I'm curious how he gets the land and if there is any foul play afoot!
I'm glad you remain curious and appreciate you reading along as I figure out exactly what happened. Thanks!
Wow! This is fascinating, and good for you for continuing to dig into the archives. Moody seems to exemplify the complexities of those who were able to take advantage of the changing conditions of the frontier and the inability of local, state or the federal government to protect the rights of Indian Country. He was clearly adventitious, but not so clearly always bad, I bet.
I'm glad to hear you find this fascinating. It has been a bit of a personal obsession to learn how the allotments came into existence. The ways in which Indigenous lands became U.S. property involved human transactions. There were no violent conflicts or wars fought between Indians and white settlers in this area during this period of encroachment like in other parts of the country. I can't help but think the place itself has something to do with it as much as the people. The remote wilderness levels everyone to the status of human beings who need each other to survive.
Interesting history about Roseau County. I enjoy reading your posts.
Thanks, Kathy. That means a lot to me.
As Diane said, you persisted. This is quite the story. I am so glad that you are doing this challenging work, following the trail, finding the truth. Thank you, Jill.
Your encouragement is appreciated. Thanks for restacking.
Thanks for your persistent research. And now we're introduced to the villain--a white settler trying to get all he can from indigenous populations and take land that isn't his. It's rare to have a name, bio, and step-by-step history of the "heroes" who took the land. I'm interested in what you found next.
Hold your horses! Moody sees the land will be taken from the Indians who are his neighbors if he does not intercede. There will be plenty of land for him to sell to immigrants and homesteaders and he knows it. I'm fairly certain Mr. Moody and those who endorsed this proposal to respect the rights of the original residents thought they were doing something beneficent. And maybe they were. They were not forced from their land and relocated to lower Red Lake reservation land. To this end, they honored the spirit of the treaty to recognize their sovereignty.
I'll get those horses under control. I'll wait for the next installment and not jump to conclusions.
Rarely is the story as black and white as the old Westerns on the television sets from our childhood. We used to be able to tell who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. It's so much more complicated than that as I am learning from digging deeper into the historical archives. Your intuition about Mr. Moody will pay off, but let's start with a trot before we gallop off to the land-boom days when my great-grandparents arrived to claim their homestead.
The research is the key: What a glimpse: Fascinating.