Alexander Posey
Encyclopedia
Alexander Lawrence Posey (1873—1908) was a Native American Muscogee Creek poet
, humorist, journalist
, and politician
.
. He was the oldest of twelve children, and his parents were Lawrence Hence Posey, who was Scotch-Irish, and Nancy Phillips Posey, who was Muscogee Creek and a member of the Harjo
family.
Because Posey's mother was from the tribal town of Tuskegee and Creek clan membership follows matrilineal lines, Posey himself was a Wind Clan member of Tuskegee. Although Posey's father was born to European-American parents, he called himself Creek. He was raised in the Creek Nation from the time he was orphaned, he spoke the Muscogee language fluently, and he was a member of the Broken Arrow tribal town. Young Alexander spoke only Muscogee. When he was fourteen, his father insisted that he speak English and punished him if he spoke in his native language. From that time, Posey received a formal education, including three years at Bacone Indian University in Muskogee, Oklahoma
.
In 1896, Posey married Minnie Harris, a schoolteacher. Together they had three children, Yahola Irving, Pachina Kipling, and Wynema Torrans, each with a middle name reflecting the couple's literary heroes.
and Henry David Thoreau
, who inspired him to write about the landscape of his childhood.
Posey worked at Indian Journal, where he published poems. In 1895, he became a member of the Creek National Council. He was also the director of a Creek Orphanage.
In 1901, Posey edited the journal Eufaula Indian Journal and received national recognition for founding the first Indian-published Indian-published daily newspaper.
The Fus Fixico letters have aspects of nostalgia but are primarily sharp political commentary about Muscogee Nation, Indian Territory, and United States politics. This was a time of political upheaval because Creek lands were broken up in individual allotments under the Dawes Act
. The Curtis Act of 1898
destroyed tribal governments and institutions, paving the way for Indian Territory to become the state of Oklahoma. Experienced politicians from the so-called Five Civilized Tribes
attempted to create an indigenous-controlled State of Sequoyah
, but their proposals were rejected by the US Federal Government. Posey served as secretary for the 1905 State of Sequoyah convention. His Fus Fixico letters from 1902 to 1908 poked fun of the statehood debated. Various US newspapers proposed syndicating the Fus Fixico letters nationwide, but Posey refused. His readership was within Indian Territory, and he didn't believe a non-Native audience would understand the humor.
So-called dialect literature was extremely popular at the dawn of the 20th century. Usually dialect literature imitated African-American dialect, but the Posey family also avidly read Robert Burns
, who wrote poetry in Scots dialect. Posey's father read such dialect writers as Max Adler
, Josh Billings
, Paul Laurence Dunbar
, and James Whitcomb Riley
. Alexander Posey saw dialects as a means of reflecting Muscogee oratory styles in English and did not care for dialect writers who simply used it because it was trendy at the time: "Those cigar store Indian dialect stories...will fool no one who has lived 'six months in the precinct.' Like the wooden aborigine, they are the product of a white man's factory, and bear no resemblance to the real article."
, when he drowned in the flooded river on May 27, 1908. He was only 35 year old. Posey is buried at the Greenhill Cemetery in Muskogee.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, humorist, journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Early life
Alexander Posey born on August 3, 1873, near present Eufaula, Creek NationEufaula, Oklahoma
Eufaula is a city in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,639 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McIntosh County.-Geography:Eufaula is located at ....
. He was the oldest of twelve children, and his parents were Lawrence Hence Posey, who was Scotch-Irish, and Nancy Phillips Posey, who was Muscogee Creek and a member of the Harjo
Harjo
Harjo is a surname, derived from the Muscogee Creek word Hadcho meaning "Crazy" or "So Brave as to Seem Crazy," and may refer to:* Albert Harjo , Muscogee Creek artist* Benjamin Harjo, Jr...
family.
Because Posey's mother was from the tribal town of Tuskegee and Creek clan membership follows matrilineal lines, Posey himself was a Wind Clan member of Tuskegee. Although Posey's father was born to European-American parents, he called himself Creek. He was raised in the Creek Nation from the time he was orphaned, he spoke the Muscogee language fluently, and he was a member of the Broken Arrow tribal town. Young Alexander spoke only Muscogee. When he was fourteen, his father insisted that he speak English and punished him if he spoke in his native language. From that time, Posey received a formal education, including three years at Bacone Indian University in Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
.
In 1896, Posey married Minnie Harris, a schoolteacher. Together they had three children, Yahola Irving, Pachina Kipling, and Wynema Torrans, each with a middle name reflecting the couple's literary heroes.
Career
Posey studied writing at Bacone. He read naturalists such as John BurroughsJohn Burroughs
John Burroughs was an American naturalist and essayist important in the evolution of the U.S. conservation movement. According to biographers at the American Memory project at the Library of Congress,...
and Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
, who inspired him to write about the landscape of his childhood.
Posey worked at Indian Journal, where he published poems. In 1895, he became a member of the Creek National Council. He was also the director of a Creek Orphanage.
In 1901, Posey edited the journal Eufaula Indian Journal and received national recognition for founding the first Indian-published Indian-published daily newspaper.
Fus Fixico letters
As Posey honed his satirical skills, he created a fictional persona, Fus Fixico (Muscogee Creek for "Heartless Bird"), whose editorial letters were published in the Indian Journal. Fus Fixico was a fullblood Muscogee traditionalist, who chatty letters about his everyday life or detailed accounts that he had heard from the fictional Muscogee medicine man Hotgun share with an audience of Creek elders: Kono Harjo, Tookpafka Micco, and Wolf Warrior. These monologues are given in Creek dialect.The Fus Fixico letters have aspects of nostalgia but are primarily sharp political commentary about Muscogee Nation, Indian Territory, and United States politics. This was a time of political upheaval because Creek lands were broken up in individual allotments under the Dawes Act
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act, adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land and divide the land into allotments for individual Indians. The Act was named for its sponsor, Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts. The Dawes Act was amended in 1891 and again...
. The Curtis Act of 1898
Curtis Act of 1898
The Curtis Act of 1898 was an amendment to the United States Dawes Act that brought about the allotment process of lands of the Five Civilized Tribes of Indian Territory: the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Cherokee, and Seminole...
destroyed tribal governments and institutions, paving the way for Indian Territory to become the state of Oklahoma. Experienced politicians from the so-called Five Civilized Tribes
Five Civilized Tribes
The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...
attempted to create an indigenous-controlled State of Sequoyah
State of Sequoyah
The State of Sequoyah was the proposed name for a state to be established in the eastern part of present-day Oklahoma. In 1905, faced by proposals to end their tribal governments, Native Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes in Indian Territory proposed such a state as a means to retain some...
, but their proposals were rejected by the US Federal Government. Posey served as secretary for the 1905 State of Sequoyah convention. His Fus Fixico letters from 1902 to 1908 poked fun of the statehood debated. Various US newspapers proposed syndicating the Fus Fixico letters nationwide, but Posey refused. His readership was within Indian Territory, and he didn't believe a non-Native audience would understand the humor.
So-called dialect literature was extremely popular at the dawn of the 20th century. Usually dialect literature imitated African-American dialect, but the Posey family also avidly read Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
, who wrote poetry in Scots dialect. Posey's father read such dialect writers as Max Adler
Max Adler
Max Adler may refer to:*Max Adler , American businessman and philanthropist*Max Adler , Austrian social theorist*Max Adler , American actor...
, Josh Billings
Josh Billings
Josh Billings was the pen name of 19th century American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw . He was perhaps the second most famous humor writer and lecturer in the United States in the second half of the 19th century after Mark Twain, although his reputation has not endured so well with later...
, Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal African American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 "Ode to Ethiopia", one poem in the collection Lyrics of Lowly Life....
, and James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley
James Whitcomb Riley was an American writer, poet, and best selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the Hoosier Poet and Children's Poet for his dialect works and his children's poetry respectively...
. Alexander Posey saw dialects as a means of reflecting Muscogee oratory styles in English and did not care for dialect writers who simply used it because it was trendy at the time: "Those cigar store Indian dialect stories...will fool no one who has lived 'six months in the precinct.' Like the wooden aborigine, they are the product of a white man's factory, and bear no resemblance to the real article."
Death
Alexander Posey and a friend attempted to cross the North Canadian RiverNorth Canadian River
The North Canadian River is a tributary of the Canadian River, approximately long, that flows through New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma in the United States....
, when he drowned in the flooded river on May 27, 1908. He was only 35 year old. Posey is buried at the Greenhill Cemetery in Muskogee.
Published works
- Posey, Alexander Lawrence, author. Minnie H. Posey, ed. (2010). The Poems Of Alexander Lawrence Posey: Alex Posey, The Creek Indian Poet. Kessinger Press. ISBN 978-1163086520.
- Posey, Alexander. Matthew Wynn Sivils, ed. (2009) Lost Creeks: Collected Journals. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803216280.
- Posey, Alexander. Matthew Wynn Sivils, ed. (2008) Song of the Oktahutche: Collected Poems. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803220539.
- Posey, Alexander. Matthew Wynn Sivils, ed. (2005). Chinnubbie and the Owl: Muscogee (Creek) Stories, Orations, and Oral Traditions. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803237469.
- Posey, Alexander, author. Daniel Littlefield, Jr. and Carl A. Petty Hunter, ed. (1993) The Fus Fixico Letters. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ASIN B001QREZM0.
- Posey, Alexander (1968). "Journal of Alexander Lawrence Posey." Chronicles of Oklahoma. ASIN B003ZW6ZHM.
- Posey, Alexander (1968). "Journal of Creek Enrollment Field Party, 1905." Chronicles of Oklahoma. ASIN B003ZWAAOG.
Further reading
- Kosmider, Maria. Tricky Tribal Discourse: The Poetry, Short Stories, and Fus Fixico Letters of Creek Writer Alex Posey. Boise: University of Idaho Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0893012014.
External links
- The complete journals and poems of Alexander Posey, Oklahoma State University
- Alex Posey, the Creek Indian poet: The poetry of Alexander Lawrence Posey, a free Google e-book.