| Abstract |
"The Amazing Iroquois follows the lives of an extended Seneca family from the American Revolution to the Cold War. It explores how Red Jacket, Ely S. Parker, Harriet Maxwell Converse (adopted), and Arthur C. Parker, became agents in the invention of the historical, political, and cultural conceptions of the Empire State. Each was one of the most popular indigenous celebrities of their respective age, so they were in a unique position to shape white New Yorker's conception of self by rewriting and representing their peoples' history on their own terms. From indigenous imperial politics to pioneering museum exhibitions, each was able to package and deliver Iroquois stories to the public in defiance of the contemporary racial stereotypes and settler colonial politics that threatened to bury them. Because of their skill, the advantages of celebrity, and with the timely intervention of Iroquois leadership, these competing forces entangled together to create a popular and long-lasting historical memory where the Iroquois became an obvious and foundational part of New York's own exceptional state history and self-identification. This is a story of how four members of an extended Seneca family worked within and used the tools of a colonial culture to shape aspects of contemporary New York culture in their own peoples' image. The result was the creation of "The Amazing Iroquois," an historical memory shaped by a combination of indigenous self-definition, colonial expectations about racial stereotypes and Native American politics, and the personalities of the people who did so much to shape it"-- Provided by publisher. |
