The Traditional History and Characteristic Sketches of the Ojibway Nation (1850) is a work of Indigenous American history by George Copway. Written while he was living with his wife and daughter in New York, The Traditional History and Characteristic Sketches of the Ojibway Nation helped establish Copway’s reputation as a leading Native American author of the nineteenth century. Recognized as one of the first books of its kind written by an indigenous author, Copway’s work is an invaluable resource for understanding the history of contact between settlers and indigenous peoples, some of whom, like Copway’s family, assimilated and served as missionaries, translators, and ambassadors. “There is room and opportunity for adventure among the bold, broken, rugged rocks, piled up one upon another in ‘charming confusion,’ on the shores, along the borders of the silent waters, or beneath the solid cliffs against which the waters of Superior break with a force which has polished their rocky surface. The mountains, rivers, lakes, cliffs, and caverns of the Ojibway country, impress one with the thought that Nature has there built a home for Nature’s children.” Raised in a moment of immense cultural change for his people, George Copway played a complicated role as a Methodist missionary and Ojibway historian, preserving the traditions of his people while working to assimilate their religious beliefs with those of the white settlers whose presence so often proved detrimental to their continued existence. In this powerful work, one of the first written texts on Indigenous American history by an indigenous author, Copway reflects on the cultural traditions, geographical territory, and ancestral stories of the Ojibway people. Written in a poetic, meditative prose, The Traditional History and Characteristic Sketches of the Ojibway Nation remains essential reading nearly two centuries after it appeared in print.
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