The legacy of the Paiute Princess

'Quintus Hopper of Nevada' series: Sarah Winnemucca, Paiute Princess, tireless fighter for her people, pioneering American Indian writer - the life of this complex figure would make a great movie.

Quintus Hopper of Nevada, published in January 2022, is a historical novel that follows the epic and peculiar life of a frontier newspaper typesetter. As part of my research I made extensive use of newspaper archives and, in this series, I’ll share some of my often surprising findings. Here are history, commentaries and contemporary newspaper articles as they relate to my latest novel. Sarah Winnemucca tirelessly fought for her Northern Paiute people - and newspapers often ruthlessly attacked her for it. I shared one such venomous article in a previous post. In this post, a look at more balanced article, including her fight against the infamous ‘Indian Ring,’ a pervasive corruption scandal that reached into the high ranks of government.

After the publication of her book (Life Among the Paiutes: Their Wrongs and Claims - find the full e-text here), and her many lectures, Sarah Winnemucca was still derided by some, but she was also commended and recognized by others. The below Silver State article describes her ongoing efforts, as well as the support by eastern philanthropists. Naturally, by exposing corrupt practices (by the ‘Indian Ring,’ a scheming group of people from local reservation agents all the way into the high places in Washington), she made herself many enemies – and occasionally frontier papers would still write ridiculing articles to make anything she said appear worthless. It cannot be said that Sarah Winnemucca won the fight – but she continued it. Eventually she returned from the east and decided to build a school for tribal children. She succeeded – and those visiting gave her credit for her excellent accomplishments. Finally, however, the funds from the east ran out and so, after a few years, she was forced to close the school again.

Sarah Winnemucca’s life would make a great movie, no doubt about it. She lived between two worlds, dealt with conflict all her life – and that included her relationships. In the novel, it is clear that Quintus loves her, and will always love her, but it is also clear that they are not meant for each other. Their paths are very different. Sarah went on to marry several times, and seems to have had a particularly good hand at picking the wrong men (abusive, lying, gambling, drinking). I read somewhere that, when she died of tuberculosis at her sister’s home in Idaho in 1891, she was buried in an unnamed grave.

In 2005, the state of Nevada gave a statue of Sarah to the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington – it’s a nice gesture – but it is far from the recognition she should be given – and we are still far from righting the wrongs she tried to right throughout her life.

April 29, 1884

(The Silver State, Winnemucca)

THE PIUTE PRINCESS.

An Indian That Displays Remarkable Energy.

Sallie Winnemucca, the Piute Princess, is displaying considerable energy for one of her race, in her fight with the Indian Ring. She has lectured in several cities on the Atlantic seaboard to large audiences, composed of the very best people, and succeeded in many instances, in convincing her hearers that her people have been neglected by the Government and cheated by the Indian Ring. In Boston she has enlisted in her cause such noted philanthropists as Mrs. Mary Mann, widow of the late Horace Mann, Miss Elizabeth P. Peabody, and other ladies of the highest respectability, who are doing good service, not only for the Indians, but for the country, in their efforts to show up the rascality of Indian Agents at Malheur and Yakima. Sarah Winnemucca has told some unpalatable truths about the Malheur agency, and “Major” Rinehart is trying to break the force of her accusations against him, not by disproving what she alleges, but by the affidavits of one or two discharged soldiers, who were doubtless too drunk or too ignorant to understand what they signed with a cross and swore to, the gallant “Major” seeming to think that he can prove his own honesty, as an Indian Agent, by showing that Sarah Winnemucca drank whiskey.

Sarah is now endeavoring to get a reservation for her tribe near Fort McDermit. As heretofore noticed by the SILVER STATE, she was before the Sub-Committee of Indian Affairs, at Washington last week, pleading for her people, many of whom never received a cent’s worth from the General Government. She asks that the military be given charge of the annuities granted by Congress to her people, as the army officers have always, as far as her experience extended, under Generals Crook and Howard, given the Indians all that the Government allowed them. Of course this request provokes the opposition of the Indian Bureau, and ex-Agent Rinehart and other tools of the Ring, are doing what they can, fair and unfair, to bring her into disrepute.