Molly Spotted Elk
Encyclopedia
Molly Spotted Elk was the stage name of Molly Dellis Nelson, a Native American
actress and dancer who was born on November 17, 1903 in the Penobscot
reservation
in Maine
and died on February 21, 1977.
Molly was the daughter of Horace Nelson
, who would later serve as elected governor of the Penobscot reservation and his wife the former Philomene Saulis. Molly was involved in vaudeville shows at various times interspesed with her early education. She attended the University of Pennsylvania
under the sponsorship of Frank Speck
. After this she performed with Miller Brother's 101 Ranch both on tour and in Oklahoma. It was as a result of winning a dance competition of Natives Americans in Oklahoma that she was adopted by the Cheyenne and given the name of Spotted Elk.
In the 1920s Spotted Elk performed in New York nightclubs. She starred in The Silent Enemy, a 1930 silent-film drama of American Indian life. In the 1930s she moved to Paris
where she found an audience for traditional native American dance. While there she met and married French journalist Jean Archambaud. At this time she began the researching folktales and traditions of the native American north-east.
At the outbreak of World War II
, Molly was forced to flee France with her young daughter, never to see her husband again. Together mother and child crossed the Pyrenees Mountains on foot to Spain. She return to the United States with her daughter, and spent the rest of her life on the Penobscot Reservation.
Molly Spotted Elk's career is marked by a tension between her desire for fame and success as an actress and performer, and the racist expectations of White American and European society that forced her to don skimpy buckskin costumes and act out stereotypes in order to do so. Returning to rural Maine after living in New York and Paris, wrote her biographer, "was like an old pair of moccasins that one dreamed of during years of high-heeled city life--only to find, upon slipping into them, that they felt less comfortable than remembered because the shape of one's feet had changed."
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
actress and dancer who was born on November 17, 1903 in the Penobscot
Penobscot Indian Island Reservation
Penobscot Indian Island Reservation is an Indian reservation for the Penobscot tribe in Penobscot County, Maine, United States near Old Town. The population was 562 at the 2000 census. A small, uninhabited part of the reservation is in Aroostook County. The reservation is home to a small museum, as...
reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and died on February 21, 1977.
Molly was the daughter of Horace Nelson
Horace Nelson
Horace Nelson was a Penobscot political leader and the father of Molly Spotted Elk.Nelson studied for a time at Dartmouth University. He served as the Penobscot Representative in the Maine Legislature from 1921 to 1922 and as the Penobscot Governor from 1939 to 1941...
, who would later serve as elected governor of the Penobscot reservation and his wife the former Philomene Saulis. Molly was involved in vaudeville shows at various times interspesed with her early education. She attended the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
under the sponsorship of Frank Speck
Frank Speck
Frank Gouldsmith Speck was an American anthropologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in the Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples among the Eastern Woodland Native Americans of the United States and First Nations peoples of eastern boreal Canada.-Early life and...
. After this she performed with Miller Brother's 101 Ranch both on tour and in Oklahoma. It was as a result of winning a dance competition of Natives Americans in Oklahoma that she was adopted by the Cheyenne and given the name of Spotted Elk.
In the 1920s Spotted Elk performed in New York nightclubs. She starred in The Silent Enemy, a 1930 silent-film drama of American Indian life. In the 1930s she moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where she found an audience for traditional native American dance. While there she met and married French journalist Jean Archambaud. At this time she began the researching folktales and traditions of the native American north-east.
At the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Molly was forced to flee France with her young daughter, never to see her husband again. Together mother and child crossed the Pyrenees Mountains on foot to Spain. She return to the United States with her daughter, and spent the rest of her life on the Penobscot Reservation.
Molly Spotted Elk's career is marked by a tension between her desire for fame and success as an actress and performer, and the racist expectations of White American and European society that forced her to don skimpy buckskin costumes and act out stereotypes in order to do so. Returning to rural Maine after living in New York and Paris, wrote her biographer, "was like an old pair of moccasins that one dreamed of during years of high-heeled city life--only to find, upon slipping into them, that they felt less comfortable than remembered because the shape of one's feet had changed."
External links
- The Maine Folklife Center hold a collection of Molly Spotted Elk material.