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All the Indian there is...should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man."
General Pratt spoke these words before developing the first Indian boarding school. It was under his leadership that thousands of Native American children were kidnapped from their homes and placed within forced assimilation camps. They were given English names and forbidden to speak their language, tell their stories, or sing their songs. If they resisted, they were bound, beaten, starved, and abused. The traumatized children who returned to their families after being "civilized" in these boarding schools could no longer speak their language or remember their stories. The Indian in them had been killed. It would seem the cultural genocide Pratt and the federal government attempted was a success...but was it?
An old Ottawa chief, himself a boarding school survivor, cherishes the stories of his people and has hidden them in his heart. One night, while sitting around a fire, he reveals the sacred ways of his people to his grandson who must now commit them to memory so they are not lost forever.
The Adawe Way offers its readers a rare glimpse into the cultural, political, and religious views of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma as they were passed down to Chief Charles Dawes from his ancestors. The Adawe Way is a short compilation of speeches made by a real Ottawa Chief, woven together in story form. The author is Ottawa, the stories are Ottawa, and the illustrations included in this book were created by an Ottawa artist.
The proceeds of this book will go toward preserving the culture of the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma.
