White Captives

by Evelyn Sibley Lampman

A fictionalized account of the experiences of two sisters who spent five years as Indian captives in the mid-nineteenth century.

181 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1975

About the author

(1907-1980) Mrs. Lampman grew up in Dallas, Oregon, granddaughter of pioneers in that region. She graduated from Oregon State and worked for many years in radio. Her first book was published in 1948, and she was most recognized for sensitive books about racial minorities, especially Native Americans.

Reviews

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having chanced upon a favorite author of my childhood, Evelyn Sibley Lampman, I have decided to read as many of her books as I can gather and collect. As she is an author of days past, that can be a bit of a challenge. This is one of those books.

I have a reading group of kids that I zoom with, and I like to use books that are from the past because that's a pool of books they don't tend to dip into, so a little generation pressure helps broaden their horizons. is double off their list because of the title, and the cover! I wanted to see if that avoidance was worth honoring.

This is the Olive Oatman story - and it is well written by a grand daughter of a pioneer who heard these stories told often during family gatherings. That said, it carries with it all the biases and long held beliefs of the story tellers, and some of that carries through to the narrative. Still, I think this is a fair telling of the traumatic experience of Olive and her sister Mary Ann, from their point of view. But as a reader to current day children (3 to 13), I've decided to not read this one to my kiddos. I will keep the book available should any want to borrow it, but it will need to be borrowed with a little background from me before they take it, and a thorough discussion afterward. Context and comparative histories need to be considered.

Olive's family broke away from LDS pioneer trains headed for Utah, going with groups that thought Arizona, California were a better destination even though they were warned there was danger on those trails. The group dwindled until only the Oatmans headed on the original path, and it was as they were warned. The family was massacred, and the two "white eyes" girls were taken as slaves, because two native girls had been taken by whites in the recent past. This book is their five years with the tribal communities in which they lived, fictionalized by the author, but is based on Olive's later writings and presentations. A very interesting story, but too strong for my age group.

4 stars

[Joan]

Wow! Those Mohave Indians were something else! True story. Quick read. If you go on amazon.com you can see the cover. A story of a child's endurance, to be sure!

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read this for literature time during the American Girl school year. It was a fascinating, true story. I still plan to visit the town on the Arizona border, where the heroine was returned to civilization.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a strange, violent, sad book.

[Cws]

AI JHF

[Allison6876 · Rating 3 out of 5]

ENGL 3021 paper