Mapping Indigenous Poetry of North America, 1830-1924

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (Ojibwe) was the first known American Indian writer, and she gets a lot of attention for this accomplishment. Her Ojibwe name was Bamewawagezhikaquay, which is widely understood to be translated into English as "Woman of the Sound the Stars Make Rushing through the Sky." She was born in Sault Ste. Marie in 1800 and lived until 1842. She married European settler Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Many scholars agree that Henry's own success as a writer should largely be credited to Jane. A full compilation of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft's poetry and writings, not recognized in her lifetime, can be found compiled by Robert Dale Parker in his book The Sound the Stars Make Rushing through the Sky: The Writings of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft. 

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