We are glad to share a presentation by Zane Grey West Society Member, Harvey Leake, discussing the real life history that Zane Grey used in his novel, The Vanishing American. Harvey is a great friend to The ONWARD Project and a seasoned researcher of the Southwest and especially of his great grandfather John Wetherill, who owned and operated the Kayenta Trading Post.
Zane Grey was an American author best known for his popular Western novels, which helped shape the genre and introduced vivid portrayals of the American frontier. His legacy endures through his influence on Western fiction, with his works continuing to inspire adaptations in film and television.
We learned about Harvey’s presentation by chance. Our social media manager and producer, Madi Fair, had posted the photograph above on our social media, reminding our audience to let us know if they recognized the man in the image. We got a wonderful response from our friend Harvey, saying:
“Thank you for posting this very important photo. We are now quite sure the man is Taddytin, who lived north of White Mesa, not far from Inscription House. He was a policeman for the Tuba City Indian Agency around 1912 until the superintendent of the boarding school, Walter Runke, relieved him of his duties. Due to a disagreement about Taddytin’s daughter, Jeanette, attending the government school, Runke sent three of his henchmen to the Navajo man’s hogan in 1916, and they ended up murdering him. His descendants are reviving the history of that tragedy, and this photo will be an invaluable addition to their documentation.”
Several real life events, including the targeted murder of the Navajo man named Taddytin, were used by Grey as constructed events in the novel. Ron Maldonado, an ONWARD board member and retired archaeologist to the Navajo Nation added, “I would say it was probably not an isololated incident…It was a common practice to send armed agents to collect the kids. There are general hints in some of the trader memoirs…that reference the resistance without giving a lot of detail.” And as is related through Navajo family oral histories. Ron continues, “Taking of the children was always a double edged sword for the Navajo people. They were encouraged by Navajo Head Men (community leaders) to send their kids to school but many feared a loss of culture.” Ron then quoted what Chief Manuelito told Chee Dodge:
“My Grand Child, the whites have many things which we Navajos need. But we cannot get to them. It is as though the whites were in a grassy canyon and there they have wagons, plows, plenty of food. We Navajos are up on a dry Mesa. We can hear them talking but we can’t get to them. My grandchildren, education is the ladder. Tell our people to take it.”
This presentation explores the ramifications of getting a hold on the “ladder” in the early days through the fictionalized retelling of Taddytin’s story in the novel as based on actual historic events and the import of the documents from Harvey’s great grandmother that shed new light on these dark events of the past. Harvey recently met with the descendants of Taddytin and they reiterated how invaluable the photo is to the family and their history.
Harvey also recommended that we check out this article, Who Does The federal Boarding Schools Investigation Leave Out?, an important read.
Recently Harvey Leake (top left) went to Inscription House with many of Taddytin’s descendants to show them where their ancestor, Hosteen Jones, lived. He was Taddytin’s father
