Power, Greed, and Betrayal in *Life Among the Piutes*

Throughout the of remaining book, Piutes goes through this fluctuation of
acts of kindness and acts of harshness by the white people. Many of the
agents assigned to the Piutes have all treated them horribly and are
consumed by greed. However, Mr. Parrish, a good agent, is introduced in
“The Malheur Agency.” He is the only fair and sincere agent that the Piutes
loved and wanted because he gave them food, money, and education.
When he left, Mr. Reinhard was assigned and abuse of the Piutes is
seen again. This theme of abuse of power by the agents is not only directed
towards the Piutes but also directed towards the government. The agents
deceive the Piutes by using the government in order to benefit themselves
(“put money in their pockets”). The phrase “Big Father in Washington told
me to tell you” is, often used as a reason to do whatever the agents wants.

Winnemucca is a perfect example of taking on the male gender roles in the
“Bannock War” by travelling, speaking on Piutes behalf, and being named
as “Chieftain.” The idea of Winnemucca being her grandfather in the
beginning chapters is further illustrated. On page 151, there is this portrayal
of Winnemucca when she was a little girl through the character of Morton’s
little girl. This scene of her having to leave and the little girl crying in
order to talk to the white people is almost the same as when Winnemucca
was a little girl and her grandfather went to CA.

There is this theme of betrayal in “Bannock War” when Oytes becomes part
of the Bannock and when  Native Americans not only start killing white
people but also any Native Americans who are involved with whites. I
can’t reallyblame Oytes and his men under the circumstances of being
abuses, starved, and death of family members. However, the most
horrifying scene I think would be on page 182-183 where Egan was cut
into pieces and his wife being scalped by Umatilla Indians.

I can understand why  Winnemucca people would think that she sold
out them out. Sometimes I feel as if all she did when her people suffered
was translate. She didn’t really say anything that would help the Piutes
other than the translation of what the Piutes said themselves. She was
very “obedient.”  Not until page 239, near the end of the book, does she
actually confront Mr. Wilbut and say something about the treatment of
the Piutes. Although she got a letter saying that the Piutes will be treated
fair, it seemed as it never happened. In a way she married a white man
and kind of just left her people.