Pequot Native William Apess Converted To Christianity, Became Methodist Minister.

Alan: In the 1800s, it was a capital offense to speak Pequot.

The United States is an "exceptional" nation.

'The Life Of William Apess, Pequot'

By WILL MICHAELS & FRANK STASIO 

Audio File: http://wunc.org/post/life-william-apess-pequot

The work of Native American author and Methodist preacher William Apess went largely unnoticed from his death in 1839 until the 1970s, when historians compiled his writings.

The writings turned out to be an eloquent collection of musings about the dynamics between Native Americans and white Americans, written by a man who had ancestry from both groups.

A new biography, “The Life of William Apess, Pequot” (2014/UNC Press), traces Apess' search for his identity as a mixed race American in the 19th century.

Host Frank Stasio talks with author Philip F. Gura about “The Life of William Apess, Pequot”