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Scholar to Discuss Pioneering American Indian Writer Jan. 10 at Mitchell Museum

EVANSTON, Ill., Dec. 24, 2009 — University of Illinois professor Robert Dale Parker,  who edited a recent milestone collection of works by Ojibwe author Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, will discuss his research on this notable Native writer at 1 p.m. Sunday, January 10, at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, 3001 Central Street, Evanston.

Parker, a professor of English and American Indian Studies at the Urbana-Champaign campus, edited The Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky: The Writings of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, published in 2007 by the University of Pennsylvania Press and issued in paperback in 2008.

Schoolcraft (1800–1842), was among the first known American Indian writers and the first known female Indian writer.  She was a trailblazer in the realms of literary writing, poetry, and the writing of traditional Indian stories, according to Parker. Her stories were a source for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s bestseller, The Song of Hiawatha.

Parker’s book is an annotated collection of Schoolcraft’s writings. Most of the works have been edited from manuscripts and appear in print for the first time. The book’s title is taken from the English translation of Schoolcraft’s Ojibwe name, Bamewawagezhikaquay, meaning “Woman of the Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky.”

Parker is the author of several books, including The Invention of Native American Literature. He holds a doctorate in English from Yale University and a bachelor’s in English and history from Brown University.

Admission to the talk is included with museum admission, which is $5 for adults, $2.50 for seniors, students, teachers (with valid school ID), and children. Maximum admission per family is $10. For information, phone 847-475-1030.

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