MOSES FRIEDMAN'S DRAFT CARD

MOSES FRIEDMAN and LONE STAR DIETZ - both checked "Indian" on their draft registrations....

M.Bentley@uea.ac.uk wrote:
I found this on the ancestry.com website. It's Moses Friedman draft card for the First World War dated 1917. For some reason, he ticks his race as White and Indian! It also looks like he has purposefully written Carlisle as his address before crossing it out. A desire to be remembered perhaps?

Matt Bentley

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Wonder why he is using Carlisle as his permanent address.
Also, the race thing is very curious. I don't see a date on this thing.
Where is the date?
He obviously filled this out while in Taos. Also, is there any connection between this "Indian" identity wierdness and Lone Star Dietz' passing himself off as Indian?
Barb
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My mistake! The date is on the card, next to the o'Reilly signature, but it is Sept 1918. You have to scrunch up your eyes to see it. Even if he was drafted, I doubt he would have made it to Europe by the armistice in November 1918. My initial thoughts were of Lone Star Dietz, but why would he attempt to pass himself off as Indian with such a German sounding name?

He could pass off the Moses as a given name perhaps, but not Friedman, especially considering that students kept an anglicized version of their Native name.

My second thought was that he was perhaps attempting to be exempt from the draft by claiming to be Indian. Records of births on the reservations were far from perfect and it is doubtful that someone from New Mexico would travel all the way to Cincinatti to find his birth certificate (As an aside, even though I have his date of birth I cannot find any Moses Friedman born in America, let alone Cincinatti, on that date or even in 1874!) However, Native-Americans were not exempt from the draft, so that idea quickly disappears.

My third thought was that it was symbolic. Maybe he is trying to show he is an Indian sympathiser by declaring it on a form where it would make little difference. Maybe it was a tactic used by 'Friends of the Indians' to show their support? This idea needs a little more research before it can be proved. However, I suspect this might be the most likely of the three.

The address thing is very puzzling. Could be argued that it was a slip of the mind. But this combined with Friedman declaring he was Indian makes it seem as if it is done on purpose. Perhaps he is trying to show off by connecting himself with the institution. I'll have to give this bit some more thought.

Matt

1913 SENATE INVESTIGATION OF THE CARLISLE INDIAN SCHOOL

Senate Investigation - in searchable format

Thank you, Matthew Bentley!
This generous PhD student from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK graciously put me on to this fabulous link. This is the Senate investigation from 1913/1914 in its entirety in searchable format. This is a major reason why the Carlisle Indian School closed down in 1918. No amount of sanitizing what happened at Carlisle can refute the facts - and here is the investigation precipitated by the petitioning efforts of Gus Welch (Anishanaabe) and others.

AMERICAN INDIAN SOCIETY INAUGURAL BALL EVENTS

Members of the AIS Inaugural Ball Committee are gearing up for the Inaugural Pow Wow and Inaugural Ball after more than a year of preparations. There are numerous opportunities for your involvement - as spectator, contributor, dancer, food prep worker, contributor and much more. For more information, check out the information sheets on the web, at the links above, or contact the American Indian Society at their website linked here.

"FIRE LIGHT"

"FIRE LIGHT"

Linda Waggoner's lovely new biography of Angel De Cora has been out for months and I'm negligent for not giving more press to this long-awaited publication. With the craziness of new grandtwins and holiday events, I admit to only having skimmed through the book, but promise to tell more. In the meantime - check it out - "Fire Light" - don't wait for my input. Angel De Cora was the founder of the native arts and crafts program at the Carlisle Indian School. The Winnebago artist graduated from the Hampton Institute and went on to become an accomplished artist in her own right after graduating from Smith College. She was hired by Indian Commissioner Leupp to reclaim traditional arts for Carlisle students after 1906. There's much more to tell, but for now, let this serve as notice of what's to come. "Fire Light," by Linda Waggoner - the biography of Angel De Cora.