Remembering the Native American who was the first person of color to serve as US vice president

[sheshe2]

CNN)Kamala Harris on Saturday made history as America's first woman, first Black and first South Asian vice president-elect. But she will not be the first person of color to serve as vice president of the United States.

In 1928, Charles Curtis -- a Native American lawmaker and member of the Kaw Nation -- was elected as President Herbert Hoover's vice president.

Curtis grew up in North Topeka, Kansas, where he was born to a White father and a one-quarter Kaw Indian mother. He was the great-great grandson of White Plume, a Kaw chief known for offering to help the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1804, according to the US Senate.

He spent much of his childhood living with his maternal grandparents on the Kaw reservation in Council Grove, Kansas. Curtis even spoke Kansa, the Siouan language of the Great Plains, before he learned English.

Read More: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/08/politics/vice-president-person-of-color-native-american-charles-curtis-trnd/index.html

I did not know this!

[soothsayer]

1. I know! We learned on Saturday when npr sent out a thing to their reporters

[underpants]

2. I'd never heard that either.

[sheshe2]

5. I was clueless.

While Curtis made history as the first person of color to become vice president, Harris is breaking barriers of her own.

Women across the US have been fighting for equal rights and representation in American life for centuries. With the election of Harris, a woman has now reached the second highest political office in the country.

On Saturday night, during her first speech as vice president-elect, Harris noted the historic moment.

"While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last," she said in Wilmington, Delaware.

"Because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities, and to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they've never seen it before. But know that we will applaud you every step of the way," she said.

I read this and I cry, with hope and joy.

[efhmc]

3. Unknown information to me.

[RestoreAmerica2020]

4. Thanks for sharing info, link.

Paz

[moondust]

6. CBC: Native historian discusses VP Curtis.

Link to tweet

[progree]

7. Kamala Harris is also the first Asian to be elected as vice president or president

Yes, she is the first South Asian, but she is also the first Asian, period. Not sure why the media tries to bury that. Every time the media reports she is the first South Asian, I kept wondering if there was some other kind of Asian, like East Asian in our V.P. or presidential history. So I looked it up, and found some articles that did say she is the first Asian V.P. or president.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2020/11/07/kamala-harris-makes-history-as-first-female-black-asian-american-vice-president/?sh=1e06aa153012

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/07/us/politics/kamala-harris.html

Just like it was true that Obama was the first East African-American president, but he was also the first African-American president.

[Meowmee]

8. I remember reading about him several years ago online on wikipedia

And I think we learned about him in high school as well. I had some great history teachers back then.

[BobTheSubgenius]

9. I'm not sure that one eighth makes one a particular ethnicity or another.

That being said, I'm sure there was PLENTY of racism and oppression at the ready to hold him down whenever possible. Rising to the office of VP is pretty damned impressive.

[Lucky Luciano]

11. I agree - but he did speak the language and grew up on a reservation.

That would make him very much culturally NA.

[IronLionZion]

15. 3/8

Sounds like it was openly known at the time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Curtis

[FreeState]

18. He pushed against natives wishes

He wanted all natives to assimilate and sell their lands.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/07/charles-curtis-made-history-but-his-legacy-remains-little-known/6203639002/?fbclid=IwAR1bQXmX5p8gFtKmw5pwIJOJeyzQDm55BqZE4iyRzBfhsqoGayzzfmPt-bg

[wnylib]

19. It's a combination of genetics

and culture. He was 3/8 Native and spent his childhood with his grandparents on a reservation.

[appalachiablue]

20. It does in the case of some Native Americans who have

been oppressed, vanquished and seen their populations dwindle for centuries. The article also states that his father was white, but Curtis was raised around his maternal grandparents which could be significant.

I don't know how the 'percentage' of Native American heritage was viewed in VP Curtis' time, but in more recent years even a smaller amount can be very important.

About 25 years ago I learned this from friends in the west. There was a prominent news story about a Native tribe trying to reclaim a boy in the adoption process (to a white couple) who was 1/32 Native American. I learned about the importance and why the tribe was intervening. Other individuals and tribes may take different views for all I know.

[Gore1FL]

10. It's a pity that it was wasted on Hoover. nt

[IronLionZion]

12. Never heard of this. It isn't widely known.

Thanks for sharing

[FreeState]

13. Most of my native friend are not fans

He was know for his "support for legislation to force Native people to assimilate into mainstream American society and leave traditional ways behind" and he drafted the Curtis Act in 1898, which overturned treaty rights, allotted tribal land to individuals without obtaining permission from the tribes, abolished tribal courts and gave the Secretary of the Interior the power to lease out mineral rights on tribal lands.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/07/charles-curtis-made-history-but-his-legacy-remains-little-known/6203639002/?fbclid=IwAR1bQXmX5p8gFtKmw5pwIJOJeyzQDm55BqZE4iyRzBfhsqoGayzzfmPt-bg

[Bayard]

16. Jeez!

Well, that certainly changes the picture. More bookmarking.

[FreeState]

17. I have a friend

That has worked with the triple council for 30+ years, very involved in the community, who has never heard of him. He said natives don’t talk about him because he wasn’t a good thing for natives.

[Bayard]

14. Really interesting

Bookmarking for later reading.

[FuzzyRabbit]

21. I was not aware of Charles Curtis.

It's stuff like this that keeps me coming back to DU every day.