Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison
Encyclopedia
Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison is a children's biographical novel written and illustrated by Lois Lenski
. The book was first published in 1941 and was a Newbery Honor
recipient in 1942. It tells the story of Mary Jemison
in a highly fictionalized form.
farm, until one morning she is taken captive by Indians who raid her home, separate her from her family, and take her and two other captives to the French Fort Duquesne
. There she is bought by two Seneca
Indian sisters: Shining Star, who is kind and beautiful, and Squirrel Woman, who is stern and cross. They adopt her as their Indian sister to replace their brother who died in Pennsylvania. They call her "Corn Tassel" because her soft yellow hair reminds them of corn in full tassel. There, she learns to be an Indian women, to bear her pain silently, to speak Seneca, to work for food, and learns the place of an Indian woman. She befriends a young hunter, Little Turtle, and wise old Grandfather Shagbark, who are both kind to her and only want her to be happy. At the end of the book she has the choice to go home with an English captain and get all the training she would have had as a white girl or to stay living as an Indian. She chooses to stay with them, earning the name "Little woman of great courage."
Lois Lenski
Lois Lenski was a popular and prolific American writer of children's and young adult fiction.One of her projects was a collection of regional novels about children across the United States...
. The book was first published in 1941 and was a Newbery Honor
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
recipient in 1942. It tells the story of Mary Jemison
Mary Jemison
Mary Jemison was an American frontierswoman and an adopted Seneca. When she was in her teens, she was captured in what is now Adams County, Pennsylvania, from her home along Marsh Creek, and later chose to remain a Seneca....
in a highly fictionalized form.
Plot summary
Mary "Molly" Jemison lives with her family on a PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
farm, until one morning she is taken captive by Indians who raid her home, separate her from her family, and take her and two other captives to the French Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
. There she is bought by two Seneca
Seneca nation
The Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
Indian sisters: Shining Star, who is kind and beautiful, and Squirrel Woman, who is stern and cross. They adopt her as their Indian sister to replace their brother who died in Pennsylvania. They call her "Corn Tassel" because her soft yellow hair reminds them of corn in full tassel. There, she learns to be an Indian women, to bear her pain silently, to speak Seneca, to work for food, and learns the place of an Indian woman. She befriends a young hunter, Little Turtle, and wise old Grandfather Shagbark, who are both kind to her and only want her to be happy. At the end of the book she has the choice to go home with an English captain and get all the training she would have had as a white girl or to stay living as an Indian. She chooses to stay with them, earning the name "Little woman of great courage."