Video
Mill City Minute - Betsey Guppy Chamberlain
Description
Betsey Guppy Chamberlain was a Lowell factory operative who is often included on lists of early Indigenous writers. Many have ascribed English and Algonkian heritage to her biography. While living in Lowell, Chamberlain was prolific, writing dozens of short stories out by hand on top of caring for her family and working long days. Outside of her small circle of fellow writers, few would have known of Chamberlain's great output in the early 1840s. Though many of her stories were published in The Lowell Offering (a magazine by factory women) Chamberlain used pseudonyms such as Tabitha and B.C. Chamberlain wrote about Indigenous people with greater humanity and care than many of her contemporaries. In "The Indian Pledge" and "A Fire-Side Scene," Chamberlain questions the morality and values of people who act violently toward Indigenous people.
Duration
55 seconds
Credit
Lowell National Historical Park
Date Created
08/09/2020
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