Mary Green - Sarah Winnemucca: The Inspiring Life Story of the Activist and Educator

At the time Sarah Winnemucca wrote her letter, American Indian people didnt receive much formal education. Sarahs letter was so

In Nevada and California, local newspapers wrote both positive and negative articles about Sarah. They commented on her appearance and character. Major

Douglas was so impressed with Sarahs thoughts that he shared her letter with officials in Washington, D.C. In May 1870 the popular national magazine Harpers Weekly published an article about Sarah and her letter.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Several years later, author Helen Hunt Jackson reprinted the entire letter in a popular book. A Century of Dishonor , published in 1881, examined the many problems that native people faced. Sarah Winnemucca had started on the path she would follow for the rest of her lifespeaking and advocating for the rights of the American Indian people.

Explorer John Charles Frmont met the Paiute at a large lake he named Pyramid Lake.

Sarah Winnemucca was born about 1844 near what is now Humboldt Lake in western Nevada. Her father, Winnemucca, and mother, Tuboitonie, named her Thocmetony. In the Paiute language, the name meant shell flower. She became known by her American name later in her life. Her family belonged to the Kuyuidika-a band of Paiute. Her mothers father, Truckee, was chief of the band. Kuyuidika-a meant cui-ui eaters. The cu-ui is a gray-brown suckerfish that was an important food for the Paiute.

During Sarahs time, white people spelled her peoples name in various ways, including the Piute, the Pi-Utah, the Pah-Ute, and the Paviotso. Today they are known as the Northern Paiute. Sarahs people called themselves the Numa, which means people. The Northern Paiute lived in present-day western Nevada, northeastern California, and southern Oregon.

The first few years of Sarahs life were peaceful. She and the other children played near the lake, making small playthings from mud as their fathers fished for cui-ui or trapped rabbits for food. Sarah and the other girls wore skirts made of grass or tree bark as they learned to help their mothers skin the rabbits for clothing. They helped the women gather the nuts of the pinyon trees, which were a staple of the Paiute diet when roasted. She and the other girls also learned to weave baskets from grass and bark to store food.

The peaceful lives of Sarah and her people changed when white explorers and settlers arrived in the area where they lived. As Sarah later

A Northern Paiute woman demonstrated in 1911 how pinyon nuts were cleaned.

Explorer John Charles Frmont was one of the first white people the Kuyuidika-a met. Frmont and his men met Sarahs grandfather near a large lake in 1844. Frmont named it Pyramid Lake because of a tower of rock that was located near its shore.

John Charles Frmont

Frmont also gave a new name to Sarahs grandfather. He called him Captain Truckee. In the Paiute language, truckee means all right or good. Sarahs grandfather believed that the new ways brought by whites were good and would benefit his people. When Frmont returned to California, Truckee went with him as a guide. While Truckee was in California, the Mexican War (1846-1848) broke out. Truckee fought alongside Frmont against the Mexican soldiers. When the war ended, California became part of the United States.

When Truckee came home, he brought with him a paper he called his rag friend.Truckees rag friend was written by Frmont and told of Truckees loyal service to Frmont and the United States. Truckee would carry this paper with him for the rest of his life.

While Truckee was impressed with white people and their ways, others in the tribe had different feelings. Many Paiute were afraid of white people. There had been some violent arguments earlier over land and river use. But these disagreements were not what most upset the Paiutes.

The Kuyuidika-a and other Paiute bands heard the terrible story about the Donner Party of settlers. During the hard winter of 18461847, the Donner Party was trapped in the Sierra Nevada on their way to California. During the four months that the party was stuck in the mountains, many of them died from disease and starvation. Some of the members of the party resorted to eating their dead companions in order to survive. This story horrified the Indians, who sometimes made their children behave by telling them that the white people would kidnap them and eat them if they werent good. This fear led to a terrifying experience for young Sarah.