Photo portrait of Baamewaawaagizhigokwe or Woman of the Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky, also known as Jane Johnston Schoolcraft. Photo in the public domain.
By Valerie Chandler
Born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on January 31, 1800, Jane Johnston was also known as Baamewaawaagizhigokwe, meaning “Woman of the Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky.”
Johnston’s mother was Ozhaguscodaywayquay, an Ojibwe, also known as Susan, and her father was John Johnston, a Scotch-Irish fur trader who had emigrated from Ireland. Jane had seven siblings and lived most of her life in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Her family became prominent in both the Ojibwe and American communities because of their prosperous fur-trading business.
Jane learned the Ojibwe language and culture from her mother but also learned English and written literature from her father and his extensive library. At age 9, Jane studied abroad in Ireland while her father tended to affairs at the family estate there. Her love of the languages resulted in her writing poetry, Ojibwe stories, and translating native songs into English. Jane often wrote and lived her life in both languages, but she never sought to publish her work.
At 23, Jane married Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an explorer and ethnologist who at the time was working as an Indian agent for the United States in the Michigan Territory. Schoolcraft was a founding figure in American cultural anthropology and in 1826 and 1827 produced a handwritten periodical called “The Literary Voyager”, aka “Muzzeniegun”, that featured some of Jane’s writings under the pen names of Rosa and Leelinau. A total of 14 issues were produced and circulated in Sault Ste. Marie, Detroit and New York.
The Schoolcrafts had four children, including a son named William Henry or Panaysee (Little Bird) who died of croup at 2.5 years. Their second child, a girl, was stillborn. Jane wrote poems expressing her grief at the loss of her children. Their third child was a daughter, Jane, they called Janee. Their youngest was a son named John. Jane also wrote poems about her feelings of separation from her two children who attended East Coast boarding schools. Their son John served in the Civil War, was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg and became disabled.
When Henry Schoolcraft was given a larger territory in Michigan as an Indian agent, the couple and their children moved to Mackinac Island. Henry’s office still stands and is known as the “Indian Dormitory” because it housed Indians who went to the island for promised supplies and annuities. Eventually, the Schoolcrafts’ marriage became “despondent,” which resulted in Jane separating from Henry in 1830 and relocating to her sister’s home in Canada. Jane suffered from recurrent illnesses after the births of her children and unexpectedly died on May 22, 1842. She was buried at St. John’s Anglican Church cemetery in what is now Ancaster, Ontario.
In 1841, Schoolcraft lost his position as an Indian agent due to a change in political administrations, so he moved to New York City where he worked for the state in American Indian research. He eventually remarried. In 1846, Schoolcraft was commissioned by the United States Congress to produce what became a six-volume publication titled “Indian Tribes of the United States” and included materials written by his late wife. Contained in the volumes were stories and other first-hand knowledge from Johnston, her family and other Ojibwe in her community. Johnston’s writings would later become inspiration for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s epic poem, “The Song of Hiawatha”.
Johnston’s writings have sparked interest amongst students and scholars ⸺ particularly those interested in the works of minorities, Native American literature and history. She has been recognized as the first Native American literary writer, the first known Native American woman writer, the first known Native American poet, the first known poet to write poems in a Native American language and the first known American Indian to translate traditional Indian stories.
In 2007, Robert Dale Parker edited Schoolcraft’s literary works, and the University of Pennsylvania Press published a complete edition of Johnston’s extensive writings, mostly of her previously unpublished manuscripts, including a biography and cultural history. “Woman of the Sound the Stars Make Rushing Through the Sky”, (1800-1842), was named a Library of Michigan Notable Book.
In October 2008, Jane Johnston Schoolcraft was distinguished as a historical inductee into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame for her dedication to preserving the Ojibwe culture by committing stories, songs and historical information to the written word. Her skills would help build bridges of understanding between Native and non-Native cultures for decades.
Sources: Michigan’s Women Hall of Fame, Academy of American Poets, History of American Women, Wikipedia
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Valerie Chandler lives in Wellston with her husband Matthew and their border collie/Australian shepherd. She is a citizen and employee of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. She is also a cancer survivor and loves to spend time with her family.
