Frances Slocum - Young Bear's "discovery"

Young Bear's "discovery"

Since her capture, Young Bear's white relatives continued to look for her, but did not meet her again for fifty-nine years. In 1835 Colonel George Ewing, an Indian trader who did business with the Miami and spoke their language fluently, stayed the night at a log cabin at what was known as Dead Man's village. He spoke with an elderly Miami woman who revealed to him that she was by birth a white woman and remembered her Christian last name, Slocum. Ewing believed Young Bear revealed her identity to him because she appeared to be in poor health and wished to finally reveal a secret she had kept for many years. However, it is more likely that Young Bear had finally decided to reveal her identity because her tribe faced forced removal to Kansas and her white identity might save her family from removal. When Ewing met Young Bear, she was a widow, living with her extended family in a double log cabin. Living with her were her two daughters, Kick-ke-se-quah (Cut Finger), O-shaw-se-quah (Yellow Leaf),Kick-ke-se-quah's husband a metís named Jean Baptiste Brouillette, her three grandchildren, and another elderly relative. Deaf Man's village was a cross-cultural meeting place and Young Bear's diverse family was not unique. Living in another cabin in Dead Man's village was an African-American laborer who had assimilated and married into the Miami tribe. Although Dead Man's village was a mix of European and Native culture because of the influential fur trade, Young Bear was thoroughly a member of the Miami tribe. The people of Dead Man's village, including Young Bear, did not speak English and were not Christian. They practiced pluralism, and continued traditions and ceremonies that had not changed much from the century before.