Mary Jemison, Part 2

POV

Accounts of the past are subjected to their time, place, and their authors' perception and motives
Future versions of events are seen through similar lenses
“Captivity and Conversion,” Hilary Wyss
“To be heard in the dominant culture, then, Natives must often negotiate story lines written about them with little regard for their particular experiences.”

Final Words

Narratives and conversion stories memorialized native cultures for Europeans
Stories showed how “progress” removed or replaced Indians
When Mary Jemison's narrative came out, segregation was national policy.
Races were separated; she must be Indian or white
A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, 1824, edited by James Seaver

James Seaver

Emphasized “the captive's commitment to Anglo-American culture”
Focused on the cultural and racial differences
Faced and eventually overcome by captives
Captives return to the white settlement
Thrilling, shocking details of frontier hardships
Transformation is feared and struggled against
The problem of "backsliding" or returning to a former way of life haunts the narrative

“A Narrative of the life of Mrs. Mary Jemison, who was taken by the Indians, in the year 1755 [sic],when only about twelve years of age, and has continued to reside amongst them to the present time. Containing an account of the Murder of her Father and his Family; her sufferings; her marriage to two Indians; her troubles with her children; barbarities of the Indians in the French and Revolutionary Wars; the life of her last husband, etc.; and many Historical Facts never before published”

"Strange as it may seem, I loved him!"

Specifically commissioned by some "gentlemen of respectability" to record her narrative not only to preserve certain historical facts but also to "perpetuate the remembrance of the atrocities of the savages in former times"
What about gender roles?
-Women expected to be passive
-Jemison becomes a victim of circumstance
-Biography will teach "pity for the bereaved, benevolence for the destitute, and compassion for the helpless"

Fragility of Conversion

Saw white people a year after capture. Senecas wanted to keep her, hid her away
Some Senecas considered her a witch
Some accused her of having an affair after birthing white babies
Adopted spiritual outlook of the Indians: “connection to the land, to agriculture, and especially to corn reveals important elements of Seneca belief in her life

Mary Jemison

Mary Jemison lived in the Genesee Valley with the Seneca nation from her capture at 15 until her death at age 90.

Taken during the French and Indian War, Jemison replaced a brother taken in battle (203)
Natives killed and captured out of revenge for previous actions against them
Captured people took on the role of deceased persons: in family life, occupation, and status
Gender and age did not matter, only willingness to participate in the tribe
Expectations for the new citizen matched the tribe's perceptions of deceased persons

Was forced to marry an Indian, though this appears very rare (204)
Axtell suggests Jemison may have married willingly
Natives persuaded the captured to stay by good acts and equal treatment towards them, not compulsion
Rape and other acts were extremely discouraged. Those guilty of rape were judged by the community

Taken when she was 15, and did not fully assimilate for 3-4 years. (208)
“If I had been taken in infancy, I should have been contented in my situation.”
The older the captive, the harder it was to learn culture
The younger the captive, the easier it was learn language and customs, and forget their white background

The Senecas were “diligent in teaching me their language; and to their great satisfaction I soon learned that I could understand it readily, and speak it fluently.” (209)
Captives were quickly placed in families and “trained” for life in the tribe
By spending time with her “sisters,” Jamison learned basic housekeeping and farming skills, and even advise in finding a spouse

Working as an Indian woman “was not severe . . . probably not harder than that of white women” (211)
Almost no oversight by others, including men
Worked with children around them
Summer: planting and harvesting
Hunting: dressing and preserving meat, treating skins for use

“The moral character of the Indians was . . . uncontaminated.” (211)
Loyal to spouses
Honest
Promoted chastity
Both men and women spent time teaching values to their children
A better example of moral living than white settlers? More Christian than the Christians?