To the American Indian:Lucy Thompson and Authenticity of Native Writing

I believe Lucy Thompsons book was highly influenced by her, but that her husband wrote it, and took advantage of some stories and knowledge he may have been told in confidence. There are parts in the book which really show Native storytelling influence, but many tip offs that she did not write it herself.

The first clue that this was not her work is the disagreement between the books title and the books dedication. With a title like “To the American Indian,” I would have expected a related dedication. Instead it reads “To Milton J. Thompson: My beloved husband with whom all of my married life has been so pleasantly spent…” There is also great emphasis on White ideals, for example her status and wealth, and that she has sacred knowledge that only Talth were entitled to. What I find interesting is that she then speaks of lower birth slaves, who think they know the stories and will run out and tell the White man anything (Thompson 26). I find this idea contradictory, because even if the book is addressed “To the American Indian” it would be available for all to see, Whites included.

 I do not believe this book was written for Native people, especially with the constant parallels and references to Christian religion. For example, the chapter entitled “Our Christ”, and “The Sampson of the Klamath Indians.” This is not to say these stories do not exist as parallels to the Christian religion, as many religions share similar archetypes, but the need to compare the two show that this book was written for the White majority. There is one passage in particular that shows a contradiction. On one page, she said she was taught there was a “God in Heaven” the on the very next page says he is “everywhere” (Thompson 74-75). These contradictions show that there are two voices in this book. What I believe to have happened is Lucy’s husband asked her to tell him stories, and then realized the correlations between their religions, or she may have eluded to the similarities herself. If she were writing this book, and writing it to Native Americans, I do not think she would have made the comparison at all. She would have focused on the stories as her peoples stories.

I believe Lucy may have said some of these things in confidence, and made the mistake of trusting her husband not to divulge some things he divulged. She may have wanted to write a book and he offered to help but exploited her. She may have had no idea the book was even written and her husband was merely taking advantage of romanticized nativism. Or she may have written it herself and just gone against her Native ideas.

Thompson, Lucy. To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman. Berkeley: Heydey, 1991.