Sophia Alice Callahan (1 January 1868 – 7 January 1894) was a novelist and teacher of
Muscogee
The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsWynema, a Child of the Forest'' (1891) is thought "to be the first novel written by a Native American woman." Shocked about the Massacre at Wounded Knee at the
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation ( lkt, Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located entirely within the U.S. state of South Dakota. Originally included within the territory of the Gr ...
, which took place about six months before she published her book, Callahan added an account of this and the 1890 Ghost Dance of the Lakota to her book in the first fictional treatment of these subjects."Behind the Shadows of Wounded Knee: The Slippage of Imagination in 'Wynema: A Child of the Forest'" Lisa Tatonetti, ''Studies in American Indian Literatures'', Volume 16, Number 1, Spring 2004, pp. 1-31 , 10.1353/ail.2004.0015
This may have been "the first novel written in Oklahoma," which was at the time
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
. Callahan wrote in a romantic novel style but she also clearly intended what has been called a "reform novel," identifying many wrongs suffered by Native Americans in United States society. After being discovered in the late 20th century, the novel was reprinted in 1997. It has been the subject of scholarly studies.
Early life and education
Sophia Alice Callahan was born in
Sulphur Springs, Texas
Sulphur Springs is a city in and the county seat of Hopkins County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 15,449. Sulphur Springs is located along the western edge of Northeast Texas.
History
Sulphur Springs was named ...
, in 1868, to a father who was culturally Muscogee and mixed-race, with Creek and European ancestry; and a white mother, daughter of a Methodist missionary. Her father, Samuel Benton Callahan, was one-eighth Muscogee-Creek and enrolled in the tribe. He lost his own father during Indian Removal of the Creek to Indian Territory in the 1830s, when the elder man died on the journey.Carolyn Stull, "S. Alice Callahan" ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' online, 2016; accessed 6 August 2016 Sophia's mother was Sarah Elizabeth Thornberg.
Sophia Alice Callahan went East for part of her education. After having studied for nearly a year at the Wesleyan Female Institute in Staunton, Virginia, she was qualified in grammar, arithmetic, physics, geography and history.
Career
Subsequent to her schooling, she taught at several different boarding schools in the Creek Nation of
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...
. She worked at Wealaka Mission School in 1892-3, where her father was the superintendent.Janet Dean, "Reading Lessons: Sentimental Literacy and Assimilation in 'Stiya: A Carlisle Indian Girl at Home' and 'Wynema: A Child of the Forest'," ''ESQ: The Journal of the American Renaissance,'' Volume 57, Number 3, 2011 (Nos. 224 O.S.), pp. 200-240; available at Digital Commons; accessed 6 August 2016 Late in 1893, she moved to the Methodist-sponsored Harrell International Institute in Muskogee. She also published articles in the school journal, ''Our Brother in Red.''
She married Samuel Callahan, editor of the ''Indian Journal.'' He was elected to represent the Creek (Muscogee) and
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...
in the
Confederate States Congress
The Confederate States Congress was both the provisional and permanent legislative assembly of the Confederate States of America that existed from 1861 to 1865. Its actions were for the most part concerned with measures to establish a new nat ...
from Indian Territory and served as an officer in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
. The family had fled from Indian Territory to Sulphur Springs during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. Afterward they returned to their home in Okmulgee, Indian Territory, where Samuel Callahan developed a large farm and cattle ranch.
Having become a member of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program th ...
(W.C.T.U.) in Muskogee, Callahan explored this and other social movements in her novel, ''Wynema, a Child of the Forest'' (1891).
Later life
Callahan last worked for the Indian Mission Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. She had returned to Wesleyan Female Institute to get a college degree, in order to open her own school in the Creek Nation. However, several other teachers at Harrell had fallen ill during the winter, and she was summoned to return home. After reaching Muskogee, Callahan also fell ill, She had contracted
pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...
and died in Muskogee at age 26 on January 7, 1894.