I personally thought the article and Ms. Ware attempted to make much of distancing Rogers from his Native background. In my opinion the opposite was true for him.
September 08, 2007
Clarification on Will Rogers
Correspondent Eulala offers some notes on the Amy Ware article:Rogers was Cherokee on both his mother and his father's side. You may be interested in watching the video "More Than Bows and Arrows" where a clip of Rogers is shown commenting about his Cherokee roots. In fact, I recommend you see this video just for your own edification in matters Native American. Most of the stuff in that excellent film (originally) never makes it into American history books or classrooms.
I personally thought the article and Ms. Ware attempted to make much of distancing Rogers from his Native background. In my opinion the opposite was true for him.
I personally thought the article and Ms. Ware attempted to make much of distancing Rogers from his Native background. In my opinion the opposite was true for him.
This is a quote I found from Mrs. Ware(article in Indian Country) about Will being perceived white by whites...
ReplyDelete"Although this story is known to many Cherokees, Rogers' tribal ties are not recognized by most Americans. At the time, the public was troubled at the prospect of accepting an Indian who did not fit their expectations. He led a life that seemed non-Indian to his white fan base: he was a cowboy; he was wealthy; he ran largely in non-Indian political circles; and, according to his blood quantum, he was more Scotch and Irish than Cherokee"
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415328
The title of the article is "Will Rogers Overlooked Cherokee Roots"
I think Ware is pointing out the obvious - White America doesn't perceive Rogers as Indian, merely as a vaudeville star, film star and humorist...It seems as if Ware is "fleshing out" the Cherokee connection with her research. A more in depth approach to the academic and not how a local reporter transposed her discussion.
Whoops, didn't finish before I posted...
ReplyDeleteA more in depth approach to the academic and not how a local reporter transposed her discussion is probably relevant before casting her work aside...
Sorry, folks!
Thanks for bringing the ICT article to my attention.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Ware wrote the second article because she didn't like how the reporters spun her remarks in the first article.