How did Indians and whites treat half-breeds on the frontier?

Junior W. Mayberry

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

By and large, half-breeds who were half-Indian/half-white had a hard time fitting into either world. I do believe the American Indians were much more racially tolerant than the whites.

Many white trappers married Indian wives and became respected members of their spouse’s tribe. Their mixed-race children fared much better in the Indian’s world than in the white man’s world.

All that being said, trappers, such as Bill Williams, sent their half-breed kids to be educated in Missouri. And cases of half-breed children being adopted by white families are well documented.

So it’s impossible to paint any ethnic group with a broad brush.