Date: 1889

 

Description: This is a page from a souvenir booklet of Sioux City published in 1889. It appears rather politically incorrect to the modern eye, but this page allows us to see the mentality of non-Natives living in Sioux City in 1889 and how they thought about Native Americans at that time. In the history of the Midwest relations between white settlers and the Native people were generally hostile. Wars and battles were fought after precious land, and racism and hate perpetuated these hostilities. Even after the Native Americans were forced into reservations white settlers exhibited these feelings and painted a particular picture of the Natives in ways like Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, and this booklet page. Civil laws and regulations have been passed since then to discourage and prevent these types of things, but they are still some of the many trials Native Americans have had to overcome. Booklets like this one were printed in many different cities in the U. S., showcasing the unique traits of each city of which they were printed. Sioux City had a series of souvenir books of this particular type through the late 1880s and early 1890s, published by E. L. Webster & Co. Similar books have been published in modern times by the Sioux City Journal, with more politically correct content.

 

Donor: Sheryl Todd