'Gladys and the Native American Long Long Trail of Tears': Reading Race, Collecting Cultures - The Roving Reader Files

The Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre is an open access University of Manchester facility. The Roving Reader Files category of blog posts is produced by Alison Newby (under the pseudonym The Roving Reader) in collaboration with Hannah Niblett (Collections Access Officer). The Roving Reader Files are designed as public engagement materials, the intention being to introduce research skills and terminology to the general user/reader in an entertaining yet informative manner by revealing hidden stories, making unusual connections and sharing insights into using the Centre's collection for research. The blog post "Gladys and the Native American Long Long Trail of Tears" touches on the life experience of anthropologist and Medicine Woman Gladys Tantaquidgeon of the Mohegan tribe, focusing on the nature of the tensions between the conflicting worldviews represented by anthropological ‘science’ and Native American culture. Tracing the catastrophic history of the encounter between Native Americans and the colonisers of North America as they advanced across the continent, the blog post highlights the rich resources held by the Centre and how they can be juxtaposed to produce a sensitive, variegated view of past events.