A STRANGER IN HER NATIVE LAND: Alice Fletcher and the American Indians

by Joan Mark ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 1988

A ground-breaking biography of Alice Fletcher (1838-1923), an early female anthropologist who grew to be one of the most respected American scientists of the past century. Fletcher's accidental beginnings in anthropology led to pioneering field work among the Omaha, Winnebago, and Nez PercÉ Indians, after which she became instrumental in developing and instituting the federal Indian Affairs policy of severalty in the 1880's. While her anthropological interest led Fletcher to document Indian ceremonies and collect artifacts for the Peabody Museum, she believed Indians needed (in fact, wanted) to be incorporated into white society and helped send many native children to Eastern schools. Using Fletcher's witty, matter-of-fact diaries and correspondence, Mark creates a vivid portrait of the encounter between Europeanized white society and Native American culture that Fletcher witnessed in the American West: decimated tribes camped around agency outposts on the plains; Indians' violent, failed rebellions against government policy; ridiculously out-of-place instructions from Washington on how federal holidays should be celebrated on Indian reservations; Fletcher's own, amused tale of collecting anatomically correct Omaha figures with the help of a blushing cavalry officer. Fletcher's life here becomes emblematic of American Indian policy in the late-19th century. Indians are contained within reservations and integrated into white religious, educational, and legal systems, while their own culture is fossilized in eastern museums. Though we may now question some of her views, here Fletcher emerges as a strong and persistent woman, of particular interest to students of anthropology, Native American history, and women's history.

Pub Date: Feb. 15, 1988

ISBN: 0803281560

Page Count: -

Publisher: Univ. of Nebraska Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1988

Categories: NONFICTION