Biographical Note and Background from the Oberlin College Archives
Wright settled his family in Oberlin in 1862, and went on to establish churches and schools for the American Missionary Association in the American South among the freed slaves. In 1867 he returned to Government service in Minnesota as a teacher among the Ojibwe, establishing a boarding school at Leech Lake to reduce the influence of family and tribe on the Native American students. He remained here until 1883 and served briefly in the late 1880's as a missionary to members of a Wisconsin tribe. He ultimately claimed 41 years of education and missionary work with the Ojibwe. During these years he, and his wife, acquired a very thorough knowledge and understanding of the Ojibwe language and he compiled a grammar text and dictionary of words in order to write materials for the Indians in their own language. That grammar and dictionary work never saw general publication, and is made available widely here for the first time.
Wright's career among the Indians was long, but not, by his measure, very successful. Although he had mastered the Ojibwe tongue and had a profound respect for its richness, he could not see that its fiber and essence came from the nomadic, subsistence life of the Ojibwe. In addition, although he abhorred the demoralizing effects of the unscrupulous traders and government agents and the intrusion of white settlers; he clung to his cultural prejudices, demanding the Ojibwe give up their culture and accept those same white values held by the intruders as evidence of conversion and "civilization." Wright died in Oberlin on 12 July 1906.
Contents of the Papers
The Sela G. Wright Papers consist primarily of Wright's Ojibwe language manuscript, and letters, 1847-66, written by Wright or his relatives. Included are Wright's letters from Red Lake, Minnesota, while among the Ojibwe Indians, which are partly written in Ojibwe; letters written while assisting Negroes in the South, 1863-66; a letter containing a description of a sailor's death off Java, 1847; and a letter containing information concerning the funeral services by C.G. Finney for an Oberlin student, 1847.See the finding guide for a complete description of the Sela G. Wright Papers (RG 30/192).