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Chief Thunderwater
An Unexpected Indian in Unexpected Places
Published by: University of Oklahoma Press
Imprint: University of Oklahoma Press
200 Pages | 6 x 9 | 12 b&w illus., 2 maps
$21.95
$34.95
$24.95
Searching out Thunderwater’s true identity, Reid documents Thunderwater's life from his birth in 1865, as Oghema Niagara, through his turns as a performer of Indian identity and, alternately, as a dedicated advocate of Indian rights. After nearly a decade as an entertainer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Thunderwater became progressively more engaged in Haudenosaunee political affairs—first in New York and then in Quebec and Ontario. As Reid shows, Thunderwater’s advocacy for Haudenosaunee sovereignty sparked alarm within Canada’s Department of Indian Affairs, which moved forcefully to discredit Thunderwater and dismantle his movement.
Self-promoter, political activist, entrepreneur: Reid’s critical study reveals Thunderwater in all his contradictions and complexity—a complicated man whose story expands our understanding of Native life in the early modern era, and whose movement represents a key moment in the development of modern Haudenosaunee nationalism.
“In this fascinating detective-like story, Gerald F. Reid shows that Thunderwater was of American Indian ancestry, that he was an early leader in the Indian community in Cleveland, that he represented the interests of Seneca chiefs and clan mothers, and that he had leadership qualities respected by Indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada. Chief Thunderwater is an excellent study.”—Laurence M. Hauptman, author of Coming Full Circle: The Seneca Nation of Indians, 1848–1934
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