Around the time this book, Empire of the Summer Moon, came out, something strange was unfolding in my mother's quest to learn more about her family blood lines. She was adopted in Oklahoma in 1950 after her birth mother, unwed and afraid and alone, gave her over to my grandma Beth to raise. We knew only a little bit about mom's birth mother....that she was part Indian, had reddish hair and was a nursing student alongside Grandma Beth, who was one of the instructors. Nothing much was known about my mom's birth father, except that he was supposedly Indian and he was a musician.
So as everything in the information age percolates with each year, my mom turned to the internet in the 2000s and put a brief posting on an Oklahoma adoption board with what little information she had about her birth mother, leaving an email if anyone had any more information. In about 2006, a random man stumbled upon my mom's message and knew exactly whom my mom was looking for. It was his aunt. Of course, nobody knew about this hidden pregnancy, and when the birth mother was approached about it, she flatly denied ever such thing happened. She laughed, we were told, and exclaimed, "I never had a child out of wedlock!" So my mom, understandably let down, didn't pursue it any further.
But my mom's new-found cousin did anything but shun her. He connected her with other relatives and told her that her birth mother is from the line of Parkers made famous by Quanah, the half-breed Comanche chief, and his white mother Cynthia Ann Parker and her stand-out story of native captivity in American history. You know, the story The Searchers is based on:
Weird, right? So a customer came in looking for The Searchers DVD. I located it for him and asked if he's read the new book out on the Searchers. He says he has, and that he and his wife are just fascinated by this story! I asked him if he read Empire of the Summer Moon. He says he has, and that his wife is currently reading it, too. He just can't get over what a neat story it is. And so I decided to tell him my strange new news, that I recently found out I am a descendent of Quanah Parker. That I am just now slowly learning more about it. He was so enraptured by this story of American history and he immediately became infatuated with my connection to it and asked me a few questions. I explained what little I could, and reminded him that Quanah had at least 25 children by a number of wives. But he thanked me and I wished him well.
Apparently, his wife came in looking for Quanah Parker's great great great granddaughter the next day. Um, if she meant me, it was my day off.
It truly is an interesting discovery, as are so many of our rich family tapestries we continue to weave with each generation. Sadly, my mom received word that her birth mother has passed away. Their connection was never realized. It's heart-breaking to me that a woman held on to her values of 1950 and denied the existence of a baby she carried in her womb for nine months. How can a woman simply block that from her consciousness? How could she just forget? What was her story? Who was my mom's birth father? So many unanswered questions which will remain dormant for eternity.
Family histories can be as convoluted and twisted as our nation's own history can be. I feel proud to be part Native American. I just wish there was a way to celebrate it more, in a more communal fashion. In a place where I would be accepted.
No wonder my mom has always liked that Half-Breed song by Cher.
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