There were eight in our party of bronzed children who were going East with the missionaries. Among us were three young braves, two tall girls, and we three little ones, Judéwin, Thowin, and I. We had been very impatient to start on our journey to the Red Apple Country, which, we were told, lay a little beyond the great circular horizon of the Western prairie. Under a sky of rosy apples we dreamt of roaming as freely and happily as we had chased the cloud shadows on the Dakota plains. We had anticipated much pleasure from a ride on the iron horse, but the throngs of staring palefaces disturbed and troubled us … children who were no larger than I hung themselves upon the backs of their seats, with their bold white faces toward me. Sometimes they took their forefingers out of their mouths and pointed at my moccasined feet. Their mothers, instead of reproving such rude curiosity, looked closely at me, and attracted their children’s further notice to my blanket. This embarrassed me, and kept me constantly on the verge of tears.
“The School Days of an Indian Girl” by Zitkála-ŠáFor decades, before they were forced onto reservations, Native Americans had friendly and even intimate contact with non-natives. But as settlements increased, so did the violence, and death. Eventually, the US government calculated that it was cheaper to kill the Indian way of life than to kill Indians.
Music:
“Allah-u-abha” by Roman Orona
“Prayers” by Darren Thompson
Further reading and listening:
Carlisle Indian School Research Podcast
Carlisle Indian Industrial School: Indigenous Histories, Memories, and Reclamations (Jacqueline Fear-Segal, Susan D. Rose)
“Indigenous People in Wyoming and the West” (wyohistory.org)
Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Henry H. Sibley listing the Dakota who were to be hanged, December 6, 1862
Letter by Captain Silas Soule to Major Edward W. Wynkoop describing Sand Creek atrocities (Scroll down the page for the letter.)
Life of George Bent: written from His Letters
Personal Stories from the US Dakota War of 1862
Stuff You Missed in History Class Podcast (Jim Thorpe)
Zitkála-Šá: Trailblazing American Indian Composer | Unladylike2020 | American Masters | PBS
“Is it a disgrace to be born a Chinese?” (Chinese Immigration, Part 3)
“I thought I was his wife.” (Chinese Immigration, Part 2)
“The Chinese were in a pitiable condition …” (Chinese Immigration, Part 1)
“We were all of us children of polygamous parents.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 13)
“Your pork and beans must be out of a can.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 12)
“…She gave him a dose of morphine and whiskey.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 11)
“The old sorrow is not so keen now.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 10)
“Horse-thieves and desperate men seemed too remote…” (Elinore Rupert, Part 9)
“See that shack over yonder?” (Women Homesteaders)
“… We were almost starved.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 8)
“A very angry Aggie strode in.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 7)
“The wind was shrieking, howling, and roaring.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 6)
“The ‘rheumatiz’ would get all the money …” (Elinore Rupert, Part 5)
“I had a confession to make …” (Elinore Rupert, Part 4)
“I am making a wedding dress.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 3)
“Such a snowstorm I never saw!” (Elinore Rupert, Part 2)
“Everything is just lovely for me.” (Elinore Rupert, Part 1)
“They’re going to bomb us!” (Mine Wars, Part 3)
“They hit me and threw me down.” (Mine Wars, Part 2)
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