She was a private poet who never self-published. In fact, she is the first authored Native American poet, male or female. She hailed from Northern Michigan and had firm roots in the Ojibwe tribe. Jane was highly deferential to her husband the famous Henry Schoolcraft. Henry Schoolcraft seemingly took advantage of her work, neglecting to attribute her due credit on many occasions. He also took the opportunity to inject her work with white anglo-Saxon self-serving biases. Here are a few of my favorites:
“To the Pine Tree”
The Pine! the pine! I eager cried,
The pine, my father! see it stand,
As first that cherished tree I spied,
Returning to my native land.
The pine! the pine! oh lovely scene!
The pine, that is forever green.
Ah beauteous tree! ah happy sight!
That greets me on my native strand
And hails me, with a friend’s delight,
To my own dear bright mother land
Oh ’tis to me a heart-sweet scene,
The pine — the pine! that’s ever green.
Not all the trees of England bright,
Not Erin’s lawns of green and light
Are half so sweet to memory’s eye,
As this dear type of northern sky
Oh ’tis to me a heart-sweet scene,
The pine — the pine! that ever green
This poem was originally written in Ojibwe and translated by Jane Johnston Schoolcraft herself. She wrote this poem at the beckoning of her husband. He asked her to recall the moments when she arrived home from a trip to Europe (Parker 90). Many of us have similarly felt that “pining” need to be home. We never really appreciate our home’s attributes until we’ve gone to another place. Every word of this poem pays homage to earthly beauties of home.
This next poem titled “Lines written at Castle Island, Lake Superior” is a poem which captures the beauty that can be cultivated in nature and its isolation. It is unknown whether this poem was translated by Jane Johnston Schoolcraft or her husband (92).
Lines written at Castle Island, Lake Superior
Here in my native inland sea
From pain and sickness would I flee
And from its shores and island bright
Gather a store of sweet delight.
Lone island of the saltless sea!
How wide, how sweet, how fresh and free
How all transporting — is the view
Of rocks and skies and waters blue
Uniting, as a song’s sweet strains
To tell, here nature only reigns.
Ah, nature! here forever sway
Far from the haunts of men away
For here, there are no sordid fears,
No crimes, no misery, no tears
No pride of wealth; the heart to fill,
No laws to try my people ill.
Schoolcraft expresses a deep sense of mending that occurs when visiting the solitary beauty of the island. Her worries melt away as nature offers its tender embrace. Furthermore, it carries a strong resentment toward colonialism and the trials of her people. For, on this island, the ills of modernity do not exist. Lake Superior and its surrounding pleasures simulate a tranquil therapy. This is one of my absolute favorites!
Five Piles 