“And by Publishing, to Preserve:” Envisioning Indigenous Futures in Anishinaabe Historical Writing, 1814–1893

This dissertation bridges intellectual history, biography, and ethnohistory to reveal how nineteenth-century Anishinaabeg used historical writing to historicize their past, speak to their colonial present, and offer future visions of a transformed colonial society. Historical writing was a key site of colonial struggle in which settler histories attempted to eliminate the Indigenous past and replace it with their own conception of the ‘Indian.’ Between 1814-1893, a remarkable body of Anishinaabe historical writing in English was produced by at least ten different writers, all of whom worked from the stories and knowledge of elders, family members, and knowledge keepers. Through a focus on the lives and writings of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (Bamewawagezhikaquay), George Copway (Kahgegagahbowh), and Francis Assiginack, this dissertation analyzes expressions of Anishinaabe historical consciousness and the settler-colonial myths and ideas they engaged with. Their writings contended that elements of Anishinaabe ways of living and knowing were not only valid, but invaluable and had to be preserved in the face of permanent loss. In addition to producing immediate political and social change in Canada and the United States, these writers also sought to shape the development of future society. While their future visions called for Indigenous adoption of Euro-Canadian and Euro-American technology and religion, they also presented Anishinaabe knowledge as a gift that could potentially facilitate spiritual and moral renewal in settler society. Historical writing was a foundational aspect of this ‘envisioning process.’ By asserting an Anishinaabe understanding of history through this trans-cultural approach, these writers were able to challenge the historical and theological foundations of settler colonialism, argue for the value and historicity of Indigenous peoples, and posit visions of a settler colonial future that would transform both Indigenous and settler society.

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