One Real American
The Life of Ely S. Parker, Seneca Sachem and Civil War General
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Children’s book icon Joseph Bruchac tells the fascinating story of a Seneca (Iroquois) Civil War officer in One Real American: The Life of Ely S. Parker, Seneca Sachem and Civil War General.
Ely S. Parker (1828–1895) is one of the most unique but little-known figures in US history. A member of the Seneca (Iroquois) Nation, Parker was an attorney, engineer, and tribal diplomat. Raised on a reservation but schooled at a Catholic institution, he learned English at a young age and became an interpreter for his people. During the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel and was the primary draftsman of the terms of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. He eventually became President Grant’s Commissioner of Indian Affairs, the first Native American to hold that post.
Award-winning children’s book author and Native American scholar Joseph Bruchac provides an expertly researched, intimate look at a man who achieved great success in two worlds yet was caught between them. Includes archival photos, maps, endnotes, bibliography, and timeline.
“Acclaimed Abenaki author Joseph Bruchac relies on Ely Parker’s own writings, a biography by Parker’s grand-nephew, and the historical knowledge of Native elders to create this complex account of power and people that should be essential reading in middle- and high-school classrooms.” —Booklist (Starred Review)
Includes black-and-white images
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Employing historical photographs and first-person quotes, Bruchac (who is Abenaki) uses straightforward language in this lively biography of Ely S. Parker, an Iroquois engineer and lawyer who served as both a Seneca Grand Sachem and a Civil War general and wrote the "official terms of surrender marking the end of the Civil War" at Appomattox. Born in 1828 on the Tonawanda Seneca Reservation and educated tuition-free by Baptist missionaries before studying law, Parker's knowledge of English saw him translating, at age 16, the Seneca Nation's efforts to preserve tribal lands. Though the bar exam was denied to him due to racist policies that didn't extend citizenship to American Indians, he became an engineer during the Civil War, rose to the rank of general, and eventually served as Ulysses S. Grant's secretary. Appointed the first Native American Indian Affairs commissioner, his enemies eventually used his race to discredit him and force him from the position. Parker faced much prejudice, injustice, and hostility, never becoming well known, despite his many accomplishments. By providing a highly detailed portrait of a complex man, Bruchac's well researched book goes far to correct that oversight. Ages 10 14.
