Apess The Bold Voice Of The Native Americans

William Apess: The Bold Voice of the Native Americans William Apess broke the mold by writing this autobiography titled A Son of the Forest in 1829, considering it was not a common literary form for his time. Apess also set the bar as the earliest autobiography written and published by a Native American. Throughout the piece we learn his highs and lows, the prejudices he encountered, his different jobs, and his ordainment as a minister. Apess was the child of a mixed-race shoemaker, and a slave/indentured servant. While he was young his parents split and Apess and his siblings were left in the care of their grandparents. Apess describes his life with grandparents to be awful. He writes that when his grandparents are under the influence of

In the 1820s and 1830s, Apess stood both with this cohort and yet apart and above, his voice raised in protest, particularly against the plight of the Native Americans (Gura). Apess wanted more for himself and his fellow “sons of the forest”. Apess critic Barry O’Connell contended that Apess’ consciousness of the “nature of Euro-American racism” represented the earliest form of Native American identity (“Americana”). Apess wished to eradicate the Euro-American’s idea that the Native Americans were “savages”. Robert Yagelski argued, “Most of the text or speeches by Native American leaders are given in the context of negotiations over treaties or of surrender to white armies, and nearly all were recorded by white observers” (“Americana”). The autobiography provided a first-hand account of events and difficulties faced by the Native Americans. Apess himself expressed his feelings in A Son of the Forest by writing “My people have no press to record their sufferings or to make known their grievances; on this account many a tale of blood and woe has never been known to the public. And during the wars between the natives and the whites, the latter could, through the medium of the newspaper press, circulate extensively every exaggerated account of ‘Indian cruelty,’ while the poor natives had no means of gaining the public ear”.

Many people during this time looked down upon Methodists and Native Americans. Apess writes that he was “constrained to believe that they were the true people of God” (18). His response to the criticism and accusation of the “noisy Methodists”, was that those who scoffed at the house of God and at holy services were a disgrace (18). Later in his autobiography, he writes that the Methodists “sought not their own advancement” (34). By this he means that they do their services for the glory of God and not for their own selfish personal glory. Apess did not like other services he had been to where ministers memorized material. He thought that those ministers depended on their own learning rather than the Holy Spirit. At a time when society in general scorned Methodism and Native Americans, Apess proudly embraced the faith and his race (""A Son of the Forest. The Experience of William Apes, a Native of The Forest""). William Apess went through a lot in his lifetime, and stood up for himself and his fellow men in a time when they needed it