Richard C. Adams
Lenape poet and legal representative (b. 1864, d. 1921) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard Calmit Adams (August 23, 1864 - October 4, 1921[1]), was an American poet, writer, attorney, entrepreneur, and cultural historian of the Delaware Tribe of Indians. As a Lenape poet and writer, he published five books collecting Delaware stories, history, religion, and modern political perspectives. In 1911, he founded intertribal American group, the Brotherhood of North American Indians.[2]
Richard Calmit Adams | |
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Born | (1864-08-23)August 23, 1864 Wyandotte County, Kansas |
Died | October 4, 1921(1921-10-04) (aged 57) Washington, D.C. |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Genre | Political poetry |
Signature | |
From 1897 until his 1921 death, he legally represented the Delaware Tribe in Washington, D.C. Adams derided discriminatory laws and initiated bills to Congress to preserve Delaware land ownership, including mineral lease rights.[3] He conducted a legal battle with the Cherokee Nation over land rights during the era of the Dawes Commission.[3]
In 2002, Music of the United States of America describes Adams as the "first American Indian to publish transcriptions of native music in European notation."[4]
His poetry expressed an "attitude of resistance toward Euramerican dominance," which may be considered "radical by early twentieth-century standards."[4] It has also been described as "a moral plea to the American public...for [native people to achieve] the respect and equal human rights they deserve."[3] Nearly all of his writing concludes with his signature and the phrase, "Representing the Delaware Indians."[3]
Adams and his wife also founded the Adams Oil & Gas Company, an Oklahoma-based crude oil corporation.[5][6]