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Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims Kindle Edition

by Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 564 ratings
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“Oh, for shame… Yes, you, who call yourselves the great civilization… your so-called civilization sweeps inland from the ocean wave; but, oh, my God! leaving its pathway marked by crimson lines of blood; and strewed by the bones of two races, the inheritor and the invader; and I am crying out to you for justice…”

Life Among the Piutes is the first known autobiography of a Native American woman.

Compelling and, at times, heartbreaking, Sarah Winnemuca Hopkins’ memoir is both a history of the Piute Indian tribe and an account of the devastation caused to the Piute people after their first contact with white men in the nineteenth century.

Born in 1841, Winnemucca was the granddaughter of Piute chief, Truckee, an early advocate of co-operation between the Indians and European-Americans.

As a result of her grandfather’s relationship with the white authorities in Nevada, Sarah became one of the few Piutes could speak and write English fluently, ensuring she became interpreter between the two groups.

Her unique position allowed her to promote the welfare of the Native American people and protest against their oftentimes shocking treatments at the hands of white people.

Life Among the Piutes is a chronicle of these struggles and the indignities faced by the Piute people. The book also captures the beautiful simplicity of Piute life and is an integral part of Native American history.

“For students of Western American history, this book is invaluable. Rarely do we have firsthand accounts of events of such importance; even more rarely are these accounts written by Native Americans who participated in them; and, still rarer are the accounts written by Native American women.” — Journal of the West

Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins (1844-1891) was a prominent female Piute activist and educator; she helped gain release of her people from the Yakima Reservation following the Bannock War of 1878, lectured widely in the East in 1883 on injustices against Native Americans in the West, established a private school for Indian students in Nevada, and was an influential figure in development of United States' 19th-century Indian policies. She died in 1891.

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  1. Print length
    170 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    May 29, 2017
  5. File size
    2261 KB
  6. Page Flip
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  7. Word Wise
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  8. Enhanced typesetting
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book doesn’t go away. It can haunt for weeks, with images of Paiutes charming antelope into a circle, a federal agent knocking a little boy to the ground, or Paiute women amazed at a small government issue of calico and unbleached muslin.” —Reno News and Review


“For students of Western American history, this book is invaluable. Rarely do we have firsthand accounts of events of such importance; even more rarely are these accounts written by Native Americans who participated in them; and, still rarer are the accounts written by Native American women.” —Journal of the West

About the Author

Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins (1841-1891) was notable for being the first Native American woman known to secure a copyright and to publish in the English language. She was also known by her married name, Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins, under which she was published. Her book, Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims, is an autobiographical account of her people during their first forty years of contact with explorers and settlers. Sarah was a person of two worlds. At the time of her birth her people had only very limited contact with Euro-Americans; however she spent much of her adult life in white society. Like many people of two worlds, she may be judged harshly in both contexts. Many Paiutes view her as a collaborator who helped the U.S. Army kill her people. Modern historians view her book as an important primary source, but one that is deliberately misleading in many instances. Despite this, Sarah has recently received much positive attention for her activism. She was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1993, and in 2005 a statue of her by sculptor Benjamin Victor was added to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071ZLRLFK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Iocaste Press (May 29, 2017)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 29, 2017
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2261 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 170 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 564 ratings

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Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
564 global ratings
Arrived damaged, sent in a paper mailer, no protection whatsoever.
3 Stars
Arrived damaged, sent in a paper mailer, no protection whatsoever.
Not worth returning, but still disappointing.When you buy something listed as “like new”, you expect it to arrive in “like new” condition.The book was mailed in a simple paper envelope, no protection whatsoever.
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Top reviews from the United States

Mary R
5.0 out of 5 stars From the True Perspective of a Native American
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2007
Verified Purchase
This book is a little difficult to read and understand at times due to the archaic language, but is definitely a worthy read. It tells the story you never learned in your history class in school. From the beginning legend of how the Native Americans became estranged from their White Brothers who were banished across the seas to the Paiute Elder telling everyone to rejoice in the return of the White Brothers is fascinating yet heartbreaking. We all know it didn't turn out so well for the Native Americans. In reading Sarah's story, which is written from the heart, it is easy to see how the Native Americans were exploited, treated as less than human and moved around like pawns to suit the white man's interest. I have the utmost respect for Sarah and her courage to speak up for her people. I also have the greatest respect for those who have followed, speaking her truths. Wake up people, we are on the wrong track. Bless you Sarah Winnemucca for your wonderful book and your attempts to make things right!
18 people found this helpful
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Amelia
4.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2017
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This book is disturbing but only because it brings to light the helplessness of the Native American people as they tried to continue their lives. I have no reason to not believe Sarah's story although I wish it weren't true. Well worth reading. Her natural vernacular is sometimes difficult to follow but makes the story more credible.
5 people found this helpful
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GrannyXtwo
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent window on life at that time
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2023
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It seems that only the victors write history - from their own point of view. This book describes things from the other side of the spectrum and gave me a whole different perspective on the US settlers and a welcoming tribe of Piute native Americans. There is a lot more to be learned about the giants that she only mentions in passing. The History Channel once had a program about these red-haired giants that the native people knew of so well; and not for their own good. Ms. Winnemucca even wove some of the giant's red hair into a necklace after the giants were killed off. Very interesting information; very interesting lady.
3 people found this helpful
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S. Whitaker
5.0 out of 5 stars personally Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2022
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I grew up in Kanosh, Utah, a small town named after the chief of a small tribe of Piutes who was very helpful to the early white settlers there. I attended elementary school in Kanosh with eight or ten Piute children who lived with their families on the small reservation near Kanosh. As a result I was very interested to read this book when it became available on Amazon. I am not personally familiar with the history described, but this book is very well written and the events described seem to fit with other events that happened in the treatment of indigenous people in our nation and others.
3 people found this helpful
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Anne S.
3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Feelings
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2011
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Many parts of this book are very compelling. They're also painful -- while she doesn't focus too much on specific instances of starving children or young men wrongfully executed for crimes they didn't commit, there was quite a bit of suffering in her life and the lives of her people and that really carries through in the the text. I think perhaps some things she glossed over because they were too painful. When you read a book about the oppression of any group of people, you don't expect bunnies and rainbows, so that alone wouldn't make me mark it down, but I'm not entirely certain she's a reliable narrator about some things. She's considered a very controversial person today, with people questioning her true motives and whether the things she did were really best for her people. Her style also sort of wanders around, jumping about chronologically, referring to people once and then returning to them fifty pages later and expecting you to remember, etc. I didn't really enjoy reading it, but it was a very important book (she was the first Native American woman to secure a copyright and publish anything in English), so if you're interested in American Indian history and/or writers, it's probably worth a read through.
7 people found this helpful
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Dee Arr
5.0 out of 5 stars A Personal Historical Memoir
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2017
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For those interested in the history of western America in the 1800’s, this personal memoir from Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins provides an interesting alternate view. Grand-daughter and daughter of Piute chiefs, Ms. Hopkins’ initial encounter with “white men” inspired fear (she believed they would eat her).

Ms. Hopkins overcame her fear and became a much-used interpreter between her tribe and the settlers and soldiers who assumed ownership of the land the Piutes had lived on for centuries. The book chronicles not only her personal history, but includes Ms. Hopkins’ struggle with remaining loyal to people who did not always follow through on their promises. It documents the first years of contact between the Piutes and the European American settlers.

The Appendix presents numerous letters from soldiers and citizens, most of them corroborating the information Ms. Hopkins presents in her book. As a historical memoir, this book is considered the first known autobiography by a Native American woman. It should also be thought of as a must-read for any student of American history. Five stars.
7 people found this helpful
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Luna2
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting reaf
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2023
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Very interesting but the book is HUGE!
2 people found this helpful
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Mary Ann Fighting!
5.0 out of 5 stars Speaking for her People
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2021
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A Piute tribal member suggested I read this to get an understanding of their colonization by European Americans. It's only 3 generations of colonization. I found Sarah Winnemucca's narrative compelling. It caused me to think about how do we as Americans caused the harm we have created.

I also found it interesting that their origin story had two peoples white and native. Where did the knowledge of white people come from? Did native people really cross the land bridge from Siberia many years ago? Western origin stories based upon the Bible starts with only one people.

I strongly urge all to read this book to get an understanding of the impact of Manifest Destiny on Native Americans.

Thank you Sarah Winnemucca and her tribal member for this book.
11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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John
3.0 out of 5 stars History according to the Piutes
Reviewed in Germany on September 13, 2017
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A lot of sad reading, would make an interesting extended film maybe.
The cover photo appears to be Geronimo and some of his Apache renegades and not Piutes!
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GrahamP
5.0 out of 5 stars Sad
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2017
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I am British, I am also very ashamed of the way the American Indian was (and is being) treated by my forebears. All tribes should be reinstated the lands which they, as the original peoples, are entitled. They looked after their lands and everything living on them, we whites do not, we destroy. I was moved by this book, as anyone should be. Give the American Indian their dignity back and maybe, just maybe, we whites may regain some self respect and dignity of our own.
3 people found this helpful
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john johnston
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
Reviewed in Australia on June 8, 2018
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Not a bad read and point of view from a time of turmoil for the Indians
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carnuted
4.0 out of 5 stars Life among the Piutes.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2017
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Very interesting to see life from the Piute side and the largely (conveniently) ignored part of American history, but can be heavy going to read sometimes.
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Lorna Skinner
5.0 out of 5 stars really interesting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2020
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Very interesting book telling what happened to a tribe of non aggressive very compliant native Indians in US, making it much easier to understand why many of them became aggressive to the white invaders.
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