The
legend
captured
the
youthful
Hemingway’s
imagination
at
a
time
when
he
saw
first
hand
the
cultural,
social,
and
economic
dislocation
of
the
northern
Michigan
Ottawas
and
Ojibways. In
addition
to
what
he
learned
from
the
people
he
met
in
the
Horton
Bay
area,
for
decades
from
1900
on,
Chicago
news
included
stories
about
Native
Americans
pressing
their
claims
to
Chicago
lakefront
property.
At
the
same
time
he
met
the
reality
of
Native
Americans
in
northern
Michigan,
the
young
Hemingway
encountered
the
idealized
versions of
Native
Americans
ready
made
for
tourist
consumption.
The
family
attended
the Hiawatha play;
there
also
is
an
early
photograph
of
the
family
wearing
headdresses
purchased
near
the
Petoskey
train
station. |