When North and South met in 1865 at Appomattox Court House to end the Civil War, the official terms of surrender weren’t written in the hand of Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, or any white soldier. Instead, this momentous event was recorded by General Ely S. Parker, a member of the Seneca (Iroquois) tribe. At that time, Parker was not only the highest-ranking Native American in the Union Army but also the Grand Sachem, or chief representative, of the Haudenosaunee—the powerful Iroquois Confederacy.
Though little known today, Ely S. Parker (1828–1895) achieved great success in many roles: diplomat, general, engineer, law student, and chief. From negotiating to retain reservation lands to acting as President Grant’s Commissioner of Indian Affairs—the first Native American to hold that post—Parker worked alongside both tribal and federal governments. Though criticized by some of his people for his rise in white society, Parker advocated for Native Americans across the country in the face of discrimination at every step—seen by some as a traitor, but to others a hero.
This expertly researched, masterfully written biography offers a unique and historical perspective. From award-winning children’s book author and Native American scholar Joseph Bruchac comes the fascinating story of a man who walked in two very different worlds, forever caught between them.