Professor Writes Biography on Native American Activist

Gerald Reid reveals the many sides of famous figure

Gerald Reid, professor of sociology at Sacred Heart University, has published a biography with the University of Oklahoma Press titled Chief Thunderwater: An Unexpected Indian in Unexpected Places. It is available on Amazon and the OU Press website. 

Chief Thunderwater was a famous Native American activist in Cleveland before his death in 1950. However, there have been rumors that he was an imposter, only posing as Native American. To bring out the truth, Reid documents the chief’s life from birth, including his years as a performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

The book’s description on Amazon reads, “Self-promoter, political activist, entrepreneur: Reid’s critical study reveals Thunderwater in all his contradictions and complexity—a complicated man whose story expands our understanding of Native life in the early modern era, and whose movement represents a key moment in the development of modern Haudenosaunee nationalism.”

Reid’s previous work includes the book Kahnawà:ke: Factionalism, Traditionalism, and Nationalism in a Mohawk Community, published in 2004. He earned a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts in 1987, and his professional interests include the native peoples of North America and the cultural and political revitalization among the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois).