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UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE WOMEN AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF AMERICAN INDIAN SCHOLARSHIP, 1830-1941 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY JOHN MARK RHEA Norman, Oklahoma 2012 WOMEN AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF AMERICAN INDIAN SCHOLARSHIP, 1830-1941 A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY ___________________________ Dr. David Wrobel, Chair ___________________________ Dr. Albert Hurtado, Co-Chair ___________________________ Dr. Ben Keppel ___________________________ Dr. Judith S. Lewis ___________________________ Dr. Sean O'Neill © Copyright by JOHN MARK RHEA 2012 All Rights Reserved. Acknowledgments As historians we study change and continuity over time. Through our words the dead are made to live probable lives and long-past events are given possible forms. Our profession is built on the belief that the past has something to say to us, that by-gone eras can yet illuminate the present. With some trepidation we keep alive the Confucian observation, “those who do not learn the lessons of the past are condemned to relive them.”1 Yet in a really profound way history is more often an intellectual and emotional process by which we say goodbye. In this respect the historian tackles cultural myths, abuses of power, miscarriages of justice, frightful bigotry, sexism, prejudice, ignorance and invisibility. We diligently pursue the complex cultural stories hidden within chronological events so that flawed humans from the past can encourage flawed humans of the present to make wiser choices. As historians we say a great deal exerting a strong sense of moral and ethical certainty, indeed our dirty little secret is that we hope to change the course of history for the better. But irrespective of our work's contemporary relevance, regardless of our scholarly skills, the inescapable fact of our profession is that we are simply picking through the rubble of time, dusting the corpses and repainting tombs; we are only re-preparing the dead and forgotten to lie in state for a season. Our scholarship is but a eulogy for the deceased. As historians we are always repackaging the past for a present generation to 1 Frederick Jackson Turner spearheaded this view in the new American History profession. Frederick Jackson Turner, “The Significance of History,” in ed. John Mack Faragher, Rereading Frederick Jackson Turner (New York, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1994), 11-30. iv mourn, we are always prepping the dead for the living to bid goodbye. Like any funeral the experience can be sobering, we pledge to always remember, to keep the past alive in our hearts, but the inevitable march of time lessens the effect of the moment and its emotional din gives way to a re-manufactured memory, a new vision of who and what was. As historians we are always saying goodbye, indeed it is cemented into the very foundation of our profession and perhaps therein is the struggle for all historians. To acknowledge the past and say goodbye we have to empathize with it, to know history we have to imagine it, to see the paths blazed by our elders we must see within the mind's eye a reasonable vision of what was and through it see what it became. But more so, to finally say goodbye we must also say thank you – to show gratitude for what was learned, thankfulness for mistakes forgiven and remorse for lessons ignored. I wish to thank Dr. Paul Gilje for making a greenhorn graduate student understand that the only way to succeed in graduate school is to put your nose to the grindstone and work hard until you have your degree in hand. Intellectually, though never my professor or committee member Dr. David Levy graciously took an interest in my work and on more than one occasion offered sage advice. Dr. Levy always had the patience and intellectual curiosity to listen to long questions and offer equally long answers. I have Dr. Levy to thank for suggesting a conference paper that led to an anthology publication. I would also like to thank Dr. Richard Lowitt for graciously sharing his insights into the relationship between Angie Debo and Edward Everett Dale. More so, it was Dr. Lowitt who contended that he just had a feeling Anna Lewis was more important than people thought and suggested I keep digging. Dr. Lowitt was right. Several colleagues and friends took time over the years to engage in discussion v and criticism that often proved helpful. I miss this interaction greatly. Thank you, particularly Tony Carlson, Sam Stalcup, Tash Smith and Sunu Kodumthara. Other academics not connected to my work were extremely kind and gracious with their time, advice and suggestions. Dr. Donald Pisani, Dr. Linda Reese, Dr. Susan Gray, Dr. Catherine Hobbs, Dr. Martha Skeeters, Dr. Joshua Piker, Dr. Carsten Schapkow, Dr. David Chappell, Dr. Sterling Evans, Dr. Robert Shalhope, Dr. Gary Anderson, Dr. Katherine Pandora, Dr. Alvin Turner, Dr. Lynn Musslewhite, Dr. Hamilton Cravens and Dr. Peter J. Bowler. Thank you as well. I would like to thank all my committee members for their many contributions to this dissertation. Dr. Albert Hurtado, Dr. David Wrobel, Dr. Judith Lewis, Dr. Ben Keppel and Dr. Sean O'Neill. I want to especially thank Dr. Hurtado for having faith in my ability to work through an admittedly vast topic with no foreseeable thesis. Dr. Hurtado saw value in this project when it was more a cacophony of scattered ideas than a clear argument. The successful completion of this dissertation is a testament to his expert guidance, sound editorial advice and broad mastery of American West scholarship. As my dissertation revisions extended beyond Dr. Hurtado's retirement Dr. Wrobel graciously agreed to become my new committee chair and co-chair with Dr. Hurtado, thank you. In the span of a few weeks Dr. Wrobel's advice and suggestions made my manuscript a much better study. Of especial help were the many long informative conversations over lunch and dinner with Dr. Hurtado, Dr. Keppel and Dr. Lewis. I value each as friends and mentors and hope one day to carry on the ancient tradition of treating my own cash-strapped students to much appreciated lunches and dinners. vi Often the outside outside field committee member is just that – outside. Dr. Lewis was not. I thank Dr. Lewis for invaluable insights into British imperial history that ultimately helped frame my analysis of the intellectual and cultural legacy of British transplant and noted American Indian historian Annie Heloise Abel. Likewise I thank Dr. Keppel for his advice and guidance over the years, but most importantly for his dedication to secondary source material. From the beginning of my tenure as a graduate student Dr. Keppel emphasized that what distinguishes our endeavors from those of self-anointed scholars, historical writers, armchair antiquarians, genealogists and online blather is that we ground our work in tried and true peer reviewed secondary sources. While we may ultimately argue against prevailing interpretations, our work builds from the profession's only distinctive tool – the historiographical cannon. Good new scholarship stands the test of time because it is first tested against good old scholarship that stood the test of time. Finally I would like to thank the History department for funding much of my East coast research through the A. K. and Ethel T. Christian Graduate Research Fellowship and for graciously funding research and related expenses for my West coast work. But most importantly I am thankful for the GA position that made graduate school economically feasible. I must also thank Laurie Scrivener, Sunu Kodumthara and Brian Buckley for their help at the University of Oklahoma Bizzell library. I am greatly appreciative of the University of Oklahoma Western History Collection staff's help over the years. Notably, JoAnn Palmeri's assistance at the University of Oklahoma History of Science Collection where I was provided a study carrel and access to manuscript collections made much of vii my American Darwinism research possible. Deeply appreciated as well was the gracious help of Anna Cook at the Massachusetts Historical Society Library and Kate Blalack and David Peters at the Oklahoma State University Library. I am especially grateful for Kelly Brown's assistance at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Nash Library. Ms. Brown provided full access to the Anna Lewis Collection and graciously gave exclusive access to a stash of unpublished Muriel H. Wright letters. The most painful thank yous are those made in absentia – too little, too late. My grandmother who raised me, who protected me and was a fearless and passionate defender of my quest for the doctorate died last year. I still miss her deeply and always will. May every human being be blessed with such a person in their lives, someone who makes them feel happy, loved, wanted and normal. Time does not heal all wounds. In contrast to unrequited thank yous stand those for present loved ones. For my mother I do appreciate your love, devotion and encouragement over the years, it meant the world to me. Last but not least, Bart. You were the one who saw a potential, who insisted that I could do better, who promised to see me through it – and did. I could not have done this without you and now you must know I cannot do the rest without you either. Forgive me if I do not say thank you – because I cannot say goodbye. viii Table of Contents Acknowledgments......................................................................................................iv-viii