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Overview
This book is the triumphant and moving story of Sarah Winnemucca (1844–91), one of the most influential and charismatic Native women in American history. Born into a legendary family of Paiute leaders in western Nevada, Sarah dedicated much of her life to working for her people. She played an instrumental and controversial role as interpreter and messenger for the U.S. Army during the Bannock War of 1878 and traveled to Washington in 1880 to obtain the release of her people from confinement on the Yakama Reservation. She toured the East Coast in the 1880s, tirelessly giving speeches about the plight of her people and heavily criticizing the reservation system. In 1883 she produced her autobiography—the first written by a Native woman—and founded a Native school whose educational practices were far ahead of its time. Sally Zanjani also reveals Sarah’s notorious sharp tongue and wit, her love of performance, her string of failed relationships, and at the end, possible poisoning by a romantic rival.Synopsis
This book is the triumphant and moving story of Sarah Winnemucca (1844–91), one of the most influential and charismatic Native women in American history. Born into a legendary family of Paiute leaders in western Nevada, Sarah dedicated much of her life to working for her people. She played an instrumental and controversial role as interpreter and messenger for the U.S. Army during the Bannock War of 1878 and traveled to Washington in 1880 to obtain the release of her people from confinement on the Yakama Reservation. She toured the East Coast in the 1880s, tirelessly giving speeches about the plight of her people and heavily criticizing the reservation system. In 1883 she produced her autobiography—the first written by a Native woman—and founded a Native school whose educational practices were far ahead of its time. Sally Zanjani also reveals Sarah’s notorious sharp tongue and wit, her love of performance, her string of failed relationships, and at the end, possible poisoning by a romantic rival.
Bloomsbury Review
“Sally Zanjani has generated an epic portrayal.”
Editorials
Bloomsbury Review
“Sally Zanjani has generated an epic portrayal.”—Bloomsbury ReviewWestern Historical Quarterly
“Well-written and smartly organized. . . . A useful addition to the literature, one that nicely joins biography to a larger piece of nineteenth-century Indian history.”—Western Historical QuarterlyChoice
“A thoroughly documented biography of a brilliant individual.”—ChoiceJournal of American History
“Essential reading for anyone interested in this fascinating figure.”—Journal of American HistoryWomen's Review of Books
“She paves the way for a new interpretation of Sarah Winnemucca—one informed by the ways she is understood by Paiute people themselves.”—Women’s Review of BooksJournal of the West
"Zanjani has done us a great service by placing Sarah fimly within the context of her time and place, as well as doing so in a narrative sytle thatmeks this biography a pleasure to read. . . . Beyond biography, this work is also a useful resource for information about Paiute customs, legends, and beliefs."—Joyce Thierer, Journal of the West
— Joyce Thierer
Mosaic
“Well documented. Excellent for research”—MosaicJournal of the West
"Zanjani has done us a great service by placing Sarah fimly within the context of her time and place, as well as doing so in a narrative sytle thatmeks this biography a pleasure to read. . . . Beyond biography, this work is also a useful resource for information about Paiute customs, legends, and beliefs."—Joyce Thierer, Journal of the WestKLIATT
Sarah Winnemucca (1844—1891) was a Paiute woman, daughter of the influential chief Winnemucca and granddaughter of Truckee, a Paiute leader who kept peace with the white man even after the murder of many in his family. Sarah's story moves from Nevada to California and finally into Oregon. As she grew, she became fluent in English and influenced many, working as a government interpreter and an entertainer, taking her one-woman show as far east as Boston. She even met once with President Hayes. Her life was filled with tragedy—massacres, wars, privation, many failed relationships—as well as with triumphs. She was a noted public speaker and established a Native school that was a model of educational excellence. She fought tirelessly against the evils of the reservation system ruled by cruel white agents. In 1883 Winnemucca wrote her autobiography, the first written by a Native woman. She died suddenly and mysteriously; the cause of her death has never been established. A controversial figure, she had her detractors, but her final legacy is one of courage and steadfastness. Zanjani's biography is carefully researched and readable. KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2001, Univ. of Nebraska Press, 366p. illus. notes. bibliog. index., Ages 15 to adult.—Janet Julian