Lucy Thompson (Yurok: Che-na-wah Weitch-ah-wah; 1856-1932) was a Native American author known for her book '' To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman.'' Written in 1916, the book is intended to preserve her people's stories. The book received the American Book Award decades later in 1992. Thompson was born in the Klamath River village of Pecwan. Outside the book she is known to have come from "Yurok aristocracy" and to be married to a caucasian man named Milton "Jim" Thompson. She intended to tell the stories of her people that were not being told by others, and to make others better understand her people and perspective, although she also criticized whites for practices like

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. Thompson expressed that violence towards indigenous Californians were deliberate acts of genocide and she expressed concern for the continued stewardship of Klamath River salmon.

Life

Born October 29, 1856 in Pec-Wan Village, Lucy Thompson was a member of the Yurok Tribe, located in Norther California. Her Yurok name was Che-na-wah Weitch-ah-wah. Weitch-ah-wah's was trained as a Talth, or spiritual leader, by her father, who also served the tribe in this capacity. in 1875, she married Jim Thompson, a white timber cruiser who was also an important figure in the local Masonic Lodge. Together they lived along the Klamath River and moved to Eureka in 1910. Lucy died in Eureka, California on February 23, 1932, only a year and two months after her husbands passing.

Awards

Thompson received the American Book Award for her book '' To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman.''

Works

Lucy Thompson's major work is her nonfiction, biographical book ''To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman,'' originally published in 1916''.'' The book explores Thompson's own life and upbringing, as well as other members of the Yurok tribe, in late nineteenth and early twentieth century California.

References

Bibliography

* Buckley, Thomas. (1993). Lucy Thompson: To the American Indian, Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman (Book Review). ''Ethnohistory,'' ''40''(3), 482. * Pilling, Arnold R. "Lucy Thompson: To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman" (Book review). ''Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology'', 14(2), 7 Jan. 1992. * McClure, Elizabeth. (2020). Light is the normal course of events, darkness is only a temporary interruption. ''Humboldt Journal of Social Relations,'' (42), 106-115.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Lucy 1856 births 1932 deaths Native American writers Yurok Yurok people American Book Award winners 20th-century Native Americans 19th-century Native Americans 19th-century Native American women 20th-century Native American women