author
A. B. (Alfred Benjamin) Meacham
1826–1882
A Methodist minister turned reformer, he became one of the most outspoken defenders of Native rights in the Pacific Northwest after witnessing the failures of U.S. Indian policy firsthand. His writing preserves both the drama of the Modoc conflict and the convictions that shaped his public life.
1 Audiobook
Wigwam and war-path; or, The royal chief in chains
by A. B. (Alfred Benjamin) Meacham
About the author
Born in Orange County, Indiana, in 1826, Alfred Benjamin Meacham went on to become a Methodist minister, public official, author, and historian. He later moved west and became closely connected with Oregon, where he served as U.S. Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1869 to 1872.
Meacham is best remembered for his involvement in the history of the Modoc War. After working in Indian affairs, he became an advocate for Native people in the Northwest. In 1873 he served on the Modoc Peace Commission and was badly wounded during the violent breakdown of negotiations. That experience shaped his later writing and public speaking.
His books and lectures helped bring national attention to the conflict at the Lava Beds and to the treatment of Native communities by the federal government. Today he is remembered not only as a nineteenth-century author and historian, but also as a figure who tried, in a turbulent and often tragic era, to argue for a more humane policy.