Great Woman: Sarah Winnemucca of the Northern Paiute, 1844-1891
People who rise to prominence in any society are often not without controversy. Sarah Winnemucca, 1844-1891, a Northern Paiute/Shoshone woman who was the first Native woman to publish her autobiography and who represents Nevada in Statuary Hall is no exception.
Sarah was born c 1844 near what is now Humboldt Lake in Nevada, to a Northern Paiute mother and Shoshone father. Her father, Winnemucca/Poito, had been adopted into the Paiute tribe as a young man and married a Paiute woman, rising to prominence within their society. Sarah's Paiute name, Thocmentony, meant Shell Flower. Sarah herself later claimed that her father was principal chief of the Paiute when, in fact, the Paiute had no such office. He was a war chief of a band of about 150 Paiute warriors. Sarah's grandfather was Paiute leader Trukizo or Truckee, for whom Truckee (now Donner) Lake and the town of Truckee, Nevada are named. When Sarah was still young, the family traveled to Stockton, California to obtain work in the cattle industry and Truckee arranged for Sarah and her sister to live with a White family in Carson City, Nevada, where Sarah learned English. When the Pyramid Lake War broke out in 1860, Winnemucca recalled his daughters. Sarah's cousin, Young Winnemucca led Paiute war parties during the war.
After the war was over, Sarah and her family traveled in California and Nevada, they were billed as a Paiute Royal Family, when no such status existed within their tribe. There was continued friction between the Paiute and the U.S. Army. Old Winnemucca's two wives, including Sarah's mother and one of Sarah's sisters was killed and another sister perished later of exposure to winter weather. Another younger sister married a White man. Sarah and the rest of her family, along with members of her tribe moved to Fort McDermott on the Nevada/California border. By 1875, the family had moved to the Malheur Reservation. Indian Agent Samuel Parrish asked Sarah to become an interpreter and later a teacher at the Reservation School. Sarah married Lt. Edward Bartlett in 1872 in Salt Lake City, Utah, but he soon deserted her and she later had to file for divorce.
A new Indian Agent took over at Malheur, named William Rinehart. He was harsh toward the Natives and involved in embezzling goods and money intended for their use. In 1878, most of the Paiute and Bannock tribe who was on the Reservation chose to leave in protest of Rinehart's methods. They joined with the Bannock who had been experiencing similar problems at Fort Hall and began to raid settlements and farms, sparking the Bannock War of 1878. Sarah later wrote that the Northern Paiute weren't in favor of the War or the methods used by the Bannock but had been held hostage by them to insure their participation. Sarah came to the attention of Gen. Oliver O. Howard, for whom she acted as a translator. After the War was resolved, her family moved to the Yakima Reservation, where conditions were harsh. Sarah served as a translator and teacher on the Reservation, but was so outraged by the conditions there that she went on a lecture tour, billing herself as Princess Sarah, daughter of Chief Winnemucca.
Sarah has drawn criticism for playing into the White stereotypes about Native royalty and exaggerating her family's importance in Paiute society. In order to draw attention to the conditions her people were suffering, she had to get the public's attention. Her efforts did force the government to inquire into conditions at Yakima and make some reforms. In 1881, Sarah married again, to Lt. Lewis Hopkins, whom she met while teaching Shoshone prisoners at Vancouver Barracks. She later traveled to the East on lecture tours and began writing a book about her experiences. Hopkins supported his wife's efforts, gathered material for the book and tried to assist, but he had tuberculosis and had developed a gambling addiction that put a strain on their marriage and their earnings. Sarah and her brother opened a school for Paiute children at Pyramid Lake in 1884, but it only lasted for 3 years. It was phased out in favor of schools following the Carlisle model. Hopkins died in 1887 and Sarah spent the last years of her life in retirement. She died in 1891 at her sister's home in Henry's Lake, Idaho.
Sarah's book on her life as a Paiute, Life Among the Paiute, was an early ethnographic source about the tribe. The town of Winnemucca, Nevada was named for her father. In 2005, a statue of Sarah Winnemucca was selected to represent Nevada in the United States Statuary Hall collection. She is also a member of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
Sarah was born c 1844 near what is now Humboldt Lake in Nevada, to a Northern Paiute mother and Shoshone father. Her father, Winnemucca/Poito, had been adopted into the Paiute tribe as a young man and married a Paiute woman, rising to prominence within their society. Sarah's Paiute name, Thocmentony, meant Shell Flower. Sarah herself later claimed that her father was principal chief of the Paiute when, in fact, the Paiute had no such office. He was a war chief of a band of about 150 Paiute warriors. Sarah's grandfather was Paiute leader Trukizo or Truckee, for whom Truckee (now Donner) Lake and the town of Truckee, Nevada are named. When Sarah was still young, the family traveled to Stockton, California to obtain work in the cattle industry and Truckee arranged for Sarah and her sister to live with a White family in Carson City, Nevada, where Sarah learned English. When the Pyramid Lake War broke out in 1860, Winnemucca recalled his daughters. Sarah's cousin, Young Winnemucca led Paiute war parties during the war. After the war was over, Sarah and her family traveled in California and Nevada, they were billed as a Paiute Royal Family, when no such status existed within their tribe. There was continued friction between the Paiute and the U.S. Army. Old Winnemucca's two wives, including Sarah's mother and one of Sarah's sisters was killed and another sister perished later of exposure to winter weather. Another younger sister married a White man. Sarah and the rest of her family, along with members of her tribe moved to Fort McDermott on the Nevada/California border. By 1875, the family had moved to the Malheur Reservation. Indian Agent Samuel Parrish asked Sarah to become an interpreter and later a teacher at the Reservation School. Sarah married Lt. Edward Bartlett in 1872 in Salt Lake City, Utah, but he soon deserted her and she later had to file for divorce.
A new Indian Agent took over at Malheur, named William Rinehart. He was harsh toward the Natives and involved in embezzling goods and money intended for their use. In 1878, most of the Paiute and Bannock tribe who was on the Reservation chose to leave in protest of Rinehart's methods. They joined with the Bannock who had been experiencing similar problems at Fort Hall and began to raid settlements and farms, sparking the Bannock War of 1878. Sarah later wrote that the Northern Paiute weren't in favor of the War or the methods used by the Bannock but had been held hostage by them to insure their participation. Sarah came to the attention of Gen. Oliver O. Howard, for whom she acted as a translator. After the War was resolved, her family moved to the Yakima Reservation, where conditions were harsh. Sarah served as a translator and teacher on the Reservation, but was so outraged by the conditions there that she went on a lecture tour, billing herself as Princess Sarah, daughter of Chief Winnemucca.
Sarah has drawn criticism for playing into the White stereotypes about Native royalty and exaggerating her family's importance in Paiute society. In order to draw attention to the conditions her people were suffering, she had to get the public's attention. Her efforts did force the government to inquire into conditions at Yakima and make some reforms. In 1881, Sarah married again, to Lt. Lewis Hopkins, whom she met while teaching Shoshone prisoners at Vancouver Barracks. She later traveled to the East on lecture tours and began writing a book about her experiences. Hopkins supported his wife's efforts, gathered material for the book and tried to assist, but he had tuberculosis and had developed a gambling addiction that put a strain on their marriage and their earnings. Sarah and her brother opened a school for Paiute children at Pyramid Lake in 1884, but it only lasted for 3 years. It was phased out in favor of schools following the Carlisle model. Hopkins died in 1887 and Sarah spent the last years of her life in retirement. She died in 1891 at her sister's home in Henry's Lake, Idaho.
Sarah's book on her life as a Paiute, Life Among the Paiute, was an early ethnographic source about the tribe. The town of Winnemucca, Nevada was named for her father. In 2005, a statue of Sarah Winnemucca was selected to represent Nevada in the United States Statuary Hall collection. She is also a member of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.
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