Reminiscences

Abstract

Lucy Thompson’s 1916 To the American Indian is a significant historical artifact because it documents the first book published by a member of the California Yurok tribe. To the American Indian details not only an autobiographical view of the intricacies of life within the Yurok tribe at the dawn of the twentieth century, but also offers an powerful critique of the colonial agenda. Drawing on the scholarship of rhetoricians, such as Malea Powell and Patricia Bizzell , as well as work by ethnohistorian Thomas Buckley, this chapter provides background on To the American Indian, discussing why it was written; the problem of audience; and how the book is still relevant today.