Examining Dated Newspapers in Tribal College Classrooms

Every autumn, I discuss the repercussions of a Chicago Tribune cartoon that caricatures Native people. Created by John T. McCutcheon, “Injun Summer” first appeared on September 30, 1907, but then ran annually from 1912 to 1992. McCutcheon’s cartoon features a grandfather telling his grandson that the autumn landscape they were witnessing meant it “is sure enough Injun Summer.” The folksy storyteller shares “that’s when all the homesick Injuns come back to play.” He tells the child staring off into the horizon beside him, “Don’t be skeered—hain’t none [of America’s First Citizens] around here now, leastways no live ones.” The grandfather goes on to explain that the haze is “Injun speerrits marchin’ along an’ dancin’ in the sunlight,” that the corn shocks are “Injun tents,” and the “burnin’ leaves” are “the campfires, an’ th’ Injuns are hoppin’ ‘round ‘em t’beat the old Harry.” He adds that a falling leaf is put into motion by a “fat old Injun ghost” whose “war paint rubbed off,” causing it to turn red. Generations of Midwesterners saw this cartoon and read its narrative, many of whom were in Illinois which is a state that dispossessed all Native nations of their ancestral, communally held land. While McCutcheon’s work is difficult to share, it helps students realize the power of newspapers to spread messages, capture biases, and give modern readers an accessible window into history.

I’ve long relied on newspapers in my College of Menominee Nation courses, as it would be difficult to explain the power of the Menominee theatre pageants without sharing their contemporary press coverage. The first show was staged in Keshena, Wisconsin, in 1937 and newspapers as far away as the Sarasota Herald sang its praises. The coverage continued through the shows’ nearly 40-year run, capturing plot summaries, cast members’ names, and even the fact that the public address system broadcasted a major league baseball game live while the spectators were waiting for the show to begin. Further, it recounted that the Menominee people used the shows to confront problematic public narratives. In 1959, as termination of the Menominee tribe’s federal trust status was nearing implementation, the Appleton Post Crescent noted, “A pageant portraying two transitional periods in the history of Wisconsin’s Menominee Indians will be presented at the Menominee Indian Fair.” The story relayed that “one act will portray the relationships among the Menominee people, the French who offered friendship, and the British who sought subservience. Playwright James G. Frechette explained to the reporter that “the theme was picked, ‘because of the many similar situations that exist today.’”

Maggie Messitt’s book, Newspaper, provides snapshots of how the press perpetuates messages vital to democratic discourse. Using vignettes from her homes in both the United States and South Africa, Messitt covers how newspapers enabled a multitude of voices to spread their messages. Noting the role that the Cherokee Phoenix played in fighting against Andrew Jackson’s disastrous Indian polices, as well as how the Oglala Light illuminated news from federal Indian boarding schools, the book highlights how reportage helps inform its readership of the repercussions of imposed government policies. Messitt additionally shows how the press could be a voice for oppression, carrying pre-Civil War notices of “runaway” enslaved humans and Jim Crow-era Ku Klux Klan cyphers. Ultimately, Messitt’s work reveals that from Fredrick Douglas to George Floyd, newspapers serve as not only “the first draft of history” but also a compelling outlet for historical, discursive analysis.

Since newspapers subsist based upon readership and advertisement sales, dated press presents a glimpse into what stories were sought and the papers’ target audience. The front page of the October 12, 1916, edition of the White Earth Nation’s The Tomahawk carries stories about how Menominee lumber profits were being swindled by government officials as well as notes on the Society of American Indians’ platform “calling for a definition of the legal status of the Indian, for the individualization of trust funds and early adjudication of all tribal claims.” The lower quarter of the page contains an ad for suits and overcoats sold at the B.L. Fairbanks Company in White Earth. This single issue is a finger on the pulse of Native issues of the time and shows that its intent is to reach tribal members in leadership positions that require them to wear suits while serving their people. The fact that the named leaders of the Society of American Indians included Native intellectuals and suffragists such as Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa) and Marie L. Baldwin affirms that the editors hoped their work would resonate with their progressive-minded Indigenous brethren.

My evocation of McCutcheon’s “Injun Summer” helps my students recognize the reductive messages their ancestors contended with, but the inclusion of additional newspapers helps localize our discussion. The December 14, 1905, edition of the Minneapolis Journal carries an image titled “Last of Menominee Indians” and explains ­that the portrait of 14 people of various ages is “believed to be the only picture in existence of the remnant of this once powerful tribe.” To counter this false narrative, I share the Menominee Historic Preservation’s report that in that same year the “Menominee log fund in the U.S. Treasury amounted to more than two million dollars” and they were among the wealthiest of the thriving Native nations on Turtle Island.

Through the media of yesteryear, students can examine how newspapers carry an invaluable key to their story. They can chart their peoples’ tenacity in protecting their inherited sovereign rights against propaganda and misinformation. Newspapers can even prompt them to consider the value of lending their own voice to modern attempts to tell their story.   

Ryan Winn, PhD teaches in the Liberal Studies Department at College of Menominee Nation.  

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in the Inquisitive Academic or any other opinion columns published by the Tribal College Journal (TCJ) do not necessarily reflect the opinions of TCJ or the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. 

References

History Pageant to Be Given at the Menominee Fair. (1959, July 16). Appleton Post Crescent, p. 40.

Injun Summer. (1907, September 30). Chicago Tribune.

Menominee Historic Preservation Office. (1994). Overview of Menominee History. 

Messitt, M. (2024). Newspaper. New York: Bloomsbury.

Tomahawk. (1916, October 22). White Earth, Minnesota.

Trailerites Meet In Wisconsin for Summer Session. (1937, August 1). Sarasota Herald, p. 1.

Woman’s Visit to Menominee Recalls Downfall of a Powerful Indian Tribe. (1905, December 14). Minneapolis Journal, p. 2.