A Stranger in Her Native Land: Alice Fletcher and the American Indians (Women in the West)

Called "Her Majesty" because of her resemblance to Queen Victoria and known as "the measuring woman" among the Indians whose land allotments she administered, Alice Fletcher (1838–1923) commanded respect from both friend and foe. She was the foremost woman anthropologist in the United States in the nineteenth century and instrumental in the adoption of the policy of severalty that dominated Indian affairs in the 1880s. This is the full and intimate story of a woman who, as she grew in understanding of Indian ways, came to recognize that she was the one who was alien, a stranger in her native land. Joan Mark recreates the long and active life of Alice Fletcher from diaries, correspondence, and other records, placing her achievements for the first time in a feminist perspective. Sustained by a sense of mission, Alice Fletcher challenged her society's definition of what women could be and do. Publishers Weekly Written from a feminist viewpoint, this intriguing, scholarly biography recounts the life of Alice Fletcher, a 19th century anthropologist who championed the rights of American Indians. In 1881 at age 43, Fletcher gave up her career as a public lecturer and traveled west to the Dakota Territory where she observed the Sioux. From there she went to Nebraska to live with the Omaha, and then on to Idaho where she camped with the Nez Perce. Among the remarkable woman's political accomplishments was a congressional bill providing for individual land allotments to reservation Indians. Using Fletcher's personal journals and letters, Mark ( Four Anthropologists ) draws intelligent conclusions about Fletcher's character: her need for a family, a home and a cause, all of which she discovered among the Indians. ``Living with my Indian friends I found I was a stranger in my native land,'' Fletcher wrote. ``I learned to hear the echoes of a time when every living thing even the sky had a voice. That voice devoutly heard by the ancient people of America I desired to make audible to others.'' Illustrations not seen by PW. (Feb.) Frontmatter List of Illustrations (page xi) Preface (page xiii) PART 1 Growing Up in Victorian America One. Early Years: "The terrible story" (page 3) Two. Woman's Clubs: or, "What Shall We Do with Our Daughters?" (page 16) Three. On the Lecture Circuit (page 29) PART 2 Mother to the Indians Four. "What I am toward is difficult" (page 45) Five. Camping with the Sioux (page 53) Six. Among the Omahas (page 64) Seven. Indian Religious Ceremonies on the Great Plains (page 79) Eight. Allotting Land to the Omahas (page 88) Nine. "Made quite a heroine of" (page 101) Ten. The Omaha Aftermath---A House Divided (page 122) Eleven. Francis (page 138) PART 3 Professional Career Twelve. A Year with the Winnebagos (page 157) Thirteen. Among the Nez Perces (page 169) Fourteen. "My honor is involved in getting this done" (page 187) Fifteen. A Fellowship for a Woman at Harvard (page 203) Sixteen. "The music comes from beyond this life" (page 216) Seventeen. Disappointment at the World's Columbian Exposition (page 233) Eighteen. Life in Washington (page 245) Nineteen. "No people can be helped if they are absolutely unrooted" (page 265) PART 4 Abroad and at Home Twenty. "Awful scene at my bed" (page 281) Twenty-One. Mexico (page 296) Twenty-Two. "My life is over" (page 307) Twenty-Three. "Be my own dear Francis always" (page 324) Twenty-Four. "There is no story in my life" (page 332) Notes (page 357) Bibliography of Works by Alice Fletcher and Francis La Flesche (page 397) Selected Bibliography (page 405) Index (page 417) Called "Her Majesty" because of her resemblance to Queen Victoria and known as "the measuring woman" among the Indians whose land allotments she administered, Alice Fletcher (1838- 1923) commanded respect from both friend and foe. She was the foremost woman anthropologist in the United States in the nineteenth century and instrumental in the adoption of the policy of severalty that dominated Indian affairs in the 1880s. This is the full and intimate story of a woman who, as she grew in understanding of Indian ways, came to recognize that she was the one who was alien, a stranger in her native land Joan Mark. Includes Index. Bibliography Of Works By Alice Fletcher And Francis La Flesche: P. 397-404. Bibliography: P. 405-416.