Lydia's Story

Lydia Carter, born in 1813, was a young Osage girl. We have no record of her Osage name, only the name given to her by missionary Elias Cornelius. She grew up in the midst of empty promises, conflict, and war, fought between the U.S. government, the Cherokee Nation, and her tribe, the Osage Nation. When she was only four years old, her mother was killed during an attack on their village by Cherokee soldiers and her father was presumed to be dead. Lydia was held captive, as were many other women and children. From then, she was traded to an Eastern Cherokee soldier, then to another Cherokee man.

After living in a Cherokee settlement, she was taken to the Brainerd mission school, as Elias Cornelius, a Christian missionary she had briefly met, did not want her to continue to live with the Cherokee. These journeys between settlements and schools were exhausting, as they took many months and covered many miles. There, she was taught English, domestic principles in preparation for becoming a wife, and resided with a white family. In Osage tribes, women and men still held different roles, but it was believed that these roles were complementary to each other and needed for balance. The Osage recognized that the roles were distinct, but didn't fall into a hierarchical regime. After another major shift, she was ordered to be taken back to her Osage nation, and then ordered back again to the Brainerd school. On the journey back, as specifically directed by the government, Lydia contracted malaria and dysentery, and she passed away.

Her life was never in her own hands nor the Osage nation's; it was unconditionally determined by the U.S. government and their beliefs, policies, and demands. Despite Lydia's father attempting to retrieve her from the mission school, Elias Cornelius and the U.S. decided they had more authority over Lydia than her own father and her own tribe.

The Little Osage Captive is a piece of propaganda that fabricates the story of a victim to U.S. expansionist policies and white supremacy ideals into a heroic tale of how the Brainerd mission school saved Lydia Carter. The book's author, Elias Cornelius, was a vehement supporter of assimilation and believed the lifestyle of Indigenous groups, including the Osage people, were "savage" and "wild". With this belief, he essentially adopted a "white man's burden" mindset, as he felt that it was his duty to educate and Christianize the younger generation of Indigenous tribes. This book is evidence of the complicated and varying decisions Indigenous people came to when combating, or accepting the forcible removal that pushed them westward. It is also a clear and frightening example of how quickly a narrative can change based on who is telling the story. Lydia's tragedy is only one of many, where the constant intervention and attempt to save Indigenous people - who did not need saving in the first place - ended up devastating lives. Ultimately, Lydia was led to her untimely death by these expansionist policies, at just seven years old.