The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman (Women in the West)

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Olive's childhood friend Susan Thompson, whom she befriended again at this time, stated many years later that she believed Olive was "grieving" upon her forced return because she had been married to a Mohave man and had given birth to two boys. [3] :152 [18] Hsieh, Veronica (November 2011). "Hell on Wheels Handbook – Olive Oatman, a Historical Counterpart to Eva". AMC Network Entertainment LLC . Retrieved 17 January 2019. The author has practiced source criticism on the various accounts of Oatman's life, discounting distortions introduced to serve various political and social biases. The resulting narrative is a fascinatingly ambiguous story. Was Olive better off as an Indian or white woman? It's hard to tell, but clearly she had warm feelings for her former "captors" when she met one of them in later life. The sexual, social, and racial norms of the time are called into question by the story of her life.

Braatz, Timothy (2003). Surviving Conquest. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. pp.253–54. Olive Oatman was almost 20 when a messenger from Fort Yuma arrived at the town of Mojave. They had learned of the presence of a white woman and demanded her return.

When Olive was 19 years old, Francisco, a Yuma Indian messenger, arrived at the village with a message from the authorities at Fort Yuma. Rumors suggested that a white girl was living with the Mohaves, and the post commander requested her return, or to know the reason why she did not choose to return. The Mohaves initially sequestered Olive and resisted the request. At first they denied that Olive was even white. Over the course of negotiations some expressed their affection for Olive, others their fear of reprisal from whites. The messenger Francisco, meanwhile, withdrew to the homes of other nearby Mohaves; shortly thereafter he made a second fervent attempt to persuade the Mohaves to part with Olive. Trade items were included this time, including blankets and a white horse, and he passed on threats that the whites would destroy the Mohaves if they did not release Olive. [5] :106 I really enjoyed this book overall and I learned a lot about my city. The story really takes you on a journey that covers the lead up to the explosion all the way to the aftermath. The author uses the love story of Danny and Elizabeth to bring you through the different areas and groups that were affected by the tragedy.⁣ The character of Eva Oakes, portrayed by Robin McLeavy in the AMC television series Hell on Wheels is very loosely based on Oatman. [29] Outside of being captured by a group of Native Americans, bearing the distinctive blue chin tattoo, and having been raised Mormon, there are very few similarities between the character of Eva and the actual life of Oatman. [34] Yet, she found ways to be happy and fulfilled. Her life really is a testament to the strength of the human spirit. At times, some incidents read more like straight history than immersive fiction, but they communicate the context of the sweeping story the book presents.

The trials that Olive and her younger sister, Mary Ann, went through at the hands of the Yavapai were so sad. I cannot imagine the terror they endured, as well as the physical challenges.I would have loved a detailed author's note about his research, as well as what was fact and where he took artistic liberties. I thought this was a fascinating read about Olive Oatman. Her family decided to travel westward after being counseled to do so by a self-proclaimed prophet, James Brewster. The religion was called Brewsterism and was a spin-off of Mormonism. There were a lot of politics surrounding religion during this timeframe, which influenced a lot of people’s decisions.