Book Review: The Newspaper Warrior: Sarah Winnemucca Hopkin’s Campaign for American Indian Rights, by Cari M. Carpenter and Carolyn Sorisio

Abstract

Cari M. Carpenter and Carolyn Sorisio The Newspaper Warrior: Sarah Winnemucca Hopkin's Campaign for American Rights, 1864-1891. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015. 329 pp.Newspapers have been an often underutilized source when recounting our frontier history. Official government reports provide general information, and diaries can provide personal insight. However, newspapers provide an unmatched daily or weekly record of events written by trained observers and crafted by some of the best writers of their day. Personal and cultural bias flourished in these newspapers, but they accurately reflected cultural opinions and mores of their time and place and provide us with rich insight.Carpenter and Sorisio's The Newspaper Warrior focuses on a nearly forgotten cultural activist, Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins. She is a truly remarkable figure. In a time when women were expected to stay in the background, Winnemucca Hopkins took center stage. She advocated for her Paiute nation and for all Native Americans. Her race and gender denied her access to most careers, to public office, and even the right to vote. Her ability to communicate, both verbally and through the written word, transcended those obstacles. Her skill and talent brought her to the attention of policy makers like Massachusetts Senator Henry Dawes and helped her to influence far reaching legislation.Born in 1844 in what is now the state of Nevada, Sarah Winnemucca had to straddle two worlds: the traditional world of her ancestors and the new world of the encroaching White civilization. Almost two thirds of the Paiutes perished, through disease or war, during the first few decades of contacts with the Whites. Sarah was sent to live with a White family to be educated when she was 13. She became fluent in English, Spanish, and three native languages. In 1865, when Sarah was 21, her mother, baby brother, and other relatives were killed in the Mud Lake Massacre. Despite all of the cultural and personal losses, Sarah Winnemucca's family still favored peace and reconciliation with the Whites.She and her family began to perform in amateur theatricals in towns across the West in the mid-1860s. Their show was advertised as an authentic example of Indian life. It was merely a pantomime of what the White audience expected complete with feather headdresses and stereotypical clothing. They once even re-enacted the Pocahontas legend. Sarah Winnemucca used these stage appearances to plead for her people and their plight. Eventually she parleyed her stage reputation into a literary reputation.In a letter to then Commissioner, Ely Samuel Parker, she called for humane treatment of Native Americans. This launched her journalism career and she was soon writing editorials for newspapers across the country as well as giving lectures to packed houses.In 1878, Sarah Winnemucca served as a translator, guide, and scout for the Army during the short-lived Bannock War. Some northern Paiutes were removed 350 miles away from their homeland allegedly because of their role in the war. Nearly 20% of those removed perished during the trip. Sarah Winnemucca protested in public forums and eventually got the Government to investigate. She met with President Rutherford B. …