SANDOZ WRITING (RIGHTING) HISTORY A DISSERTATION IN English and History Presented to the Faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by JILLIAN LEIGH WENBURG B.A., University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2005 M.A., University of Nebraska-Kearney, 2006 Kansas City, Missouri 2015 ©2015 JILLIAN LEIGH WENBURG ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SANDOZ WRITING (RIGHTING) HISTORY Jillian Leigh Wenburg, Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2015 ABSTRACT Mari Sandoz’s dedication to her research topics, personality, candor, and work ethic allowed her an intimate place alongside those she chose to write about. This yielded a moving written product. In the same way that Sandoz was able to infiltrate the groups she researched, they permeated Sandoz’s consciousness. As she developed story ideas and noted observations about Plains life, Sandoz encountered factions that she saw were unjustly treated. She utilized her platform as a writer to attempt to redress these injustices. Her work with Native Americans, women, and workers greatly touched the people she wrote about and, ultimately, for. This work considers how this frontierswoman was able to transgress gender boundaries and question authority about those she felt were disenfranchised. Her acerbic writing, in both her literary texts and letters, was remarkable in a time and place when and where women typically did not provide such pointed commentary. Mari Sandoz’s literary works were supported by extensive historical research, which employed ethnohistory, and detailed research notes to support her stories of both fiction and iii non-fiction. Her advocacy through her writing and personal efforts were important in shaping opinions in Nebraska and the United States. While Sandoz’s intricate work invites critique, analysis, and commentary, her work has remained obscure to scholars in either a historical or a literary sense. This work demonstrates the methodology by which Sandoz comments on issues of her time more accurately and, more importantly, the effect of her writing on those issues. The importance of this research is how Sandoz effectively comments about these issues and utilized her texts and letters to promote her advocacy, providing interest to feminist rhetoricians. Sandoz’s interventions are related to ongoing issues, as they demonstrate the ways by which an author can influence and affect public sympathy and awareness in order to effect change. iv APPROVAL PAGE The faculty listed below, appointed by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies have examined a dissertation titled “Sandoz Writing (Righting) History” presented by Jillian Leigh Wenburg, candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, and certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. Supervisory Committee Anthony Shiu, Ph.D., Committee Chair Department of English John Herron, Ph.D., Co-Discipline Chair Department of History Christine Hodgen, Ph.D. Department of English Jane Greer, Ph.D. Department of English Diane Mutti-Burke, Ph.D. Department of History v CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 1 2. CONSTRUCTING WOMEN: “WELL-KNIT BONE AND NERVE”..................... 22 3. ADVOCATING FOR THE WORKING MAN/WOMAN: LABORERS, FARMERS, AND IMMIGRANTS .............................................. 94 4. STOKING WHILE STALKING: SANDOZ INCREASES AWARENESS WHILE “STALKING THE GHOST OF CRAZY HORSE” ........................................................................................ 167 ENDNOTES ........................................................................................................................ 224 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 232 VITA .................................................................................................................................... 251 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful to those who have helped me in the pursuit of my degree. I thank Drs. John and Ingrid Tangeman for their support through education, experiences, and travel, and who purchased my first Sandoz book in fifth grade, The Storycatcher. I also would like to thank the Tangeman families, Wenburg families, and Schutz family. I was trained at two fine institutions which facilitated my work with extraordinary scholars including: Dr. Anthony Shiu, Dr. John Herron, Dr. Jane Greer, Dr. Christie Hodgen, and Dr. Diane Mutti-Burke, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Dr. Kathryn Benzel, Dr. Charles Peek, Dr. Robert Luscher, Dr. Nyla Ali Khan, and Dr. Susan Honeyman, from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, as well as a great many other advisors. Thank you also to Peggy Elefson for her expertise in the completion of this manuscript. I also am indebted to the University of Missouri-Kansas City, UMKC School of Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska-Kearney, Fort Lewis College, UMKC Women’s Graduate Assistance Fund, Mari Sandoz Heritage Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Special Collections, and others who provided institutional support and funding to pursue this endeavor. I thank my committee members Dr. Jane Greer, Dr. Christie Hodgen, and Dr. Diane Mutti-Burke, for their insight and feedback. I am grateful for Dr. John Herron’s extensive commentary regarding the historical aspects of this dissertation. I am so very fortunate and honored to have worked closely with my dissertation chair, Dr. Anthony Shiu. Without his guidance, countless revisions, and support, I would not have completed this dissertation. For Chris, thank you for your love and support through these many years of academic study. This was unachievable without you. Dedicated to Mari Sandoz. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Mari Sandoz sits next to best friend Eleanor Hinman on the darkening South Dakota plains. The two have spent twelve days with Crazy Horse’s descendants, earning their trust and hearing their stories. Each looks with anticipation straight ahead, as the chief dancer, a 78-year-old Lakota man, prepares himself for the first Sun Dance1 to occur in the Pine Ridge since 1881. Each wait, not moving, not breathing, afraid that one small movement will break the spell that has afforded them a place of honor alongside He Dog, the close friend and Warrior brother of the greatest Indian war chief in the Midwest, Crazy Horse. The dancers begin their Sun Dance. The rhythms of the dancers’ bare, weathered feet stomp in rhythm nearly as loudly as Sandoz’s heart. She was about to experience something no white woman had seen on this reservation for more than 51 years. Viewed as a granddaughter by He Dog, she was family here (Sandoz, “Letter to Gentlemen at New York Times” 22); she felt she belonged (Sandoz “Letter to Gentlemen at Saturday Evening Post” 278). Sandoz’s dedication to her research topics, personality, candor, and work ethic allowed her an intimate place alongside those she chose to write about. She was afforded a unique privilege to participate in this ceremony because of the way she approached her work. In the same way that Sandoz was able to infiltrate the groups she researched, they permeated Sandoz’s consciousness. As she developed story ideas and noted observations about Plains life, Sandoz encountered societal factions that she saw were unjustly treated. She utilized her platform as a writer to attempt to redress these injustices. Her work with Native Americans, 1 women, and farmers and laborers greatly touched the people she wrote about and, ultimately, for. I consider how this frontierswoman was able to transgress boundaries and question authority about those she felt were disenfranchised. Her acerbic writing, in both her literary texts and letters, was remarkable in a time and place when and where women typically did not provide such pointed commentary. My research asks questions about her texts and activism and her ability to push limits of acceptable gender roles, societal norms, and stereotypes. This work recovers and uncovers the significance behind Sandoz’s work and provides a platform from which to start a conversation about the merit of that material. Archival materials, which include her primary source materials, copious notes, letters, and photos, provide evidence as to how Sandoz was able to effectively circumvent limitations for women born on the frontier and discursively and legally challenge the dominant roles for women, farmers, laborers, and Native Americans. I examine how her texts represent these issues and assess the ways her texts and activism worked in conjunction to advocate for disenfranchised parties. It is important to contextualize Sandoz to understand why her texts are divergent from other Plains writers and why they deserve closer analysis. This work then can serve as a place to begin the conversation of more broad based comparison of Sandoz’s texts and their significance in her time. Her activism is my primary focus, but I am interested in how her history caused her to arrive at these conclusions and to develop such passionate stances. As a native Nebraskan, I am also invested in examining the larger significance and stakes of this