Jane Johnston Schoolcraft

"The American explorer and ethnologist Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864) was one of the earliest writers on Native American culture and history."

One of the more important texts that Henry Rowe Schoolcraft published was entitled, Algic Researches, Comprising Inquires Respecting the Mental Characteristics of the North American Indians. He did so with the help of his wife Jane "whose contribution to the final text can hardly be overestimated."

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft's writing enabled others to become a part of the Native American culture through being recipients of her writing.

Though Jane Johnston Schoolcraft was credited by her husband for her work, "only a perfunctory note" credits her contribution; an amount far inferior to that due.

"Jane Johnston Schoolcraft (Bame-wa-was-ge-zhik-a-quay) (Ojibwa) and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Reading the Roots: American Writing before Walden. Ed. Michael Branch. Athens, GA. University of Georgia,2004. 303.

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft's husband had a keen interest in the Ojibwa tribe, and with Jane, he was able to publish a magazine, "The Literary Voyager" a magazine wholly based around the Ojibwa Tribe. This was done exclusively because of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft’s broad understanding of Ojibwa customs and language.

Dr. Lape, Noreen. Jane Johnston Schoolcraft. 2002. 11-17-04.
http://studentwebs.colstate.edu/morrell_angela/

Schoolcraft's writings were especially important during this turbulent period of history for the Ojibwa Indians because these myths helped Americans to better understand the Ojibwa nation and their way of life.

Barnouw, Victor. Wisconsin Chippewa Myths and Tales and Their Relation to Chippewa Life. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1997.

Schoolcraft's retelling of Ojibwa mythology allows future generations to benefit from the wisdom of the nation through the Ojibwa's outlook on life, their system of beliefs, and by understanding what problems the nation encountered and how they were solved within the culture.

Jane Johnston Schoolcraft was taught both English, and Ojibwa languages, which enabled her to record the oral stories of her people. Today, all Ojibwa speak english, but only about a quarter speak their native Ojibwa language. Follow this link for a few audio samples of a man speaking ojibwa:

http://www.schoolnet.ca/aboriginal/audiosam/anish/anish-e.html

Source: http://www.geocities.com/bigorrin/chippewa_kids.htm