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Reviews
Sheheke, Mandan Indian Diplomat: The Story of White Coyote, Thomas Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark
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By Tracy Potter
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Farcountry Press and Fort Mandan Press, Helena, Mont., 2003. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index. 208 pages. $15.95 paper.
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Reviewed by W. Otis Halfmoon
National Park Service, Santa Fe, New Mexico
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| That Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery affected the growth of a fledgling United States of America has been gleaned through the publication of numerous accounts since the nineteenth century. It is only recently, however, that the "untold" story can be related by the people they encountered in this historic journey. It is these stories that are generating interest among a new generation of students and scholars. |
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Even before the Corps of Discovery, other traders and explorers had come to the upper Missouri by the late eighteenth century — from the British and the Spanish to the Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras. This foreign influence initiated an intransigent attitude among certain Tribes toward competitive Tribes concerning material wealth. The lessons learned from these foreign contacts also prepared tribal leaders for the complex nature of interactions with future explorers looking to expand the territory of their respective countries. It is in these times that Sheheke lived his life. |
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The Mandan people were once one of the most influential, powerful, and prolific of all the Northern Plains Tribes. Their trading skills were exceptional. This was before the introduction of a new disease that decimated the villages along the Missouri River. Once smallpox was unfettered, the lives of the Mandans were changed forever. Tribal elders took with them to the grave tribal stories that would never be heard again. Future generations were never given the chance to grow. The tribal population was never to recover. |
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On October 24, 1804, the life of Sheheke, a Mandan chief, changed forever with the arrival of the American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Corps of Discovery. In 1806, Sheheke would travel from North Dakota with Lewis and Clark to meet President Thomas Jefferson in Washington, D.C. Tracy Potter's excellent study shows the changes that Sheheke experienced and his views of the Americans. Potter has also captured the prevailing philosophy of this time period in American history and the attempts of President Jefferson to impress upon the Tribes the strength of the United States. |
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It is truly unfortunate that many of these tribal stories are unheard. It also must be understood that the Tribes viewed the coming of the Corps of Discovery as only a minor intrusion into their respective worlds. In fact, on the winter counts that these Tribes kept on buffalo hides, the arrival of the Corps of Discovery is not noted by any illustration. Winter counts were kept by the Holy Men to record the most important event of each particular year. Many of the Tribes along the route of the Corps of Discovery viewed Lewis and Clark as one of many white men who were trying to gain favor through a symbiotic relationship in respect to commerce and military confederation. In many respects, the Mandans' experiences were typical for this time period. |
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With the coming of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial, it is appropriate that the Tribes tell their stories. These histories will continue with the future generations of these Tribes. Readers of Sheheke, Mandan Indian Diplomat will go back in time to learn the truth about how these events affected the Mandans. It is a tragic history that many historians would rather only see as something in the past, but to the Tribes it is only yesterday, and to many of the tribal elders it is today. Any scholar of Lewis and Clark history should recognize this publication as a great addition to the topic. |
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The story that Potter tells about Sheheke is also a prime example of the divisions among the various tribal leaders in regard to the influences of the newcomers. The story of this Mandan Indian diplomat is also the story of many Tribes, not only during this time period, and of the hard decisions that all tribal leaders had to make to help protect and preserve their tribal land base, culture, and way of life. When readers complete this book, they will have the opportunity to reflect upon the Lewis and Clark era as described by the Tribes. The Tribes have survived the centuries with dignity, and now they must look to the twenty-first century and future generations. |
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