Ned Christie: Cherokee Outlaw or Hero?

What this episode covers

Who was Nede Wade Christie? Was he a violent criminal guilty of murdering a federal officer? Or a Cherokee statesman who suffered a martyr’s death for a crime he did not commit? For more than a century, journalists, pulp fiction authors, and even serious historians have produced largely fictitious accounts of “Ned” Christie’s life. Now, in a tour de force of investigative scholarship, Devon A. Mihesuah offers a far more accurate depiction of Christie and the times in which he lived. In this conversation, Mihesuah talks to playwright, Falen Johnson, placing Christie’s story within the rich context of Cherokee governance and nineteenth-century American political and social conditions. More than a biography, Ned Christie traces the making of an American myth. Devon Abbott Mihesuah is the Cora Lee Beers Price Teaching Professor in International Cultural Understanding. She holds a Ph.D. in American History from Texas Christian University. Her career has been devoted to the empowerment and well-being of Indigenous peoples. She served as Editor of the American Indian Quarterly for nine years. Her research, writing and speaking focuses on decolonization strategies and is one of the few Indigenous writers who successfully writes non-fiction and fiction. She regularly speaks nationally and internationally about issues pertaining to empowerment of Indigenous peoples; her works are cited and reprinted in hundreds of publications and her books and essays are used in classrooms across the world. The host of this episode is Falen Johnson, Mohawk and Tuscarora from Six Nations Grand River Territory. She is bear clan. Falen is a writer, producer, director, and actor. Her plays Salt Baby, Two Indians, and Ipperwash have played in theatres across the country. Her writing appears in publications such as Granta Magazine, Brick Literary Journal. She has also been featured in The Canadian Theatre Review as well as on the Moth Storytelling podcast. Falen has earned TV writing credits for Urban Native Girl (APTN) and was a researcher on Colonization Road (Frog Girl Films). She co-hosts the podcast The Secret Life of Canada with co-creator Leah-Simone Bowen.