Betty Mae Tiger Jumper Strives for an Education—Autobiography

An autobiography can provide useful primary source information about a person in the past or the present. In addition, autobiographies can provide in-depth details about a specific community, time period, location, and so forth. The paragraphs below are from A Seminole Legend. This book was written by Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, a famous American Indian leader.

Primary Source

I had a mission when I arrived back in Dania in 1937—to go to school. I wanted an education like my friends in Oklahoma had.…

I couldn't believe I was getting near to graduating. I told my grandmother the summer before I graduated: “This is my last year of school. I am graduating!” She smiled and said, “I'm glad you stayed with it and are finishing, even though I don't believe in school. It makes me happy to see you stay with whatever you believe in, because if you had quit before finishing, you would have been a failure. Learn your studies and finish them—like Indian doctors do.” I had learned from my grandmother to set a goal and go after it. So I set my goals at an early age. To finish school was one goal. To work among my people and get them on their feet through health care and education were my goals for the future.…

In sewing class we had learned how to make dresses, so I made my own graduation dress. On graduation night, as I was walking up to get my diploma in my white dress, I knew that it would always be one of the happiest moments of my life. My tears fell, as I had fulfilled one of my dreams and my mother was there to share it with me….

Background

Betty Mae Tiger Jumper was born in 1923 in a small village in the Florida Everglades called Indiantown. She grew up in a traditional Seminole community. At that time, Seminoles did not want a lot of contact with mainstream white culture. Jumper's grandmother, for example, did not want children to go to school or learn to read English. Ever since Jumper was a little girl, she was determined to get an education. There were not many educational opportunities where she lived. Finally, Jumper's family allowed her to attend a boarding school in Cherokee, North Carolina. Jumper has achieved many goals throughout her life. In 1945, she became the first Seminole to graduate from high school. Later, Jumper was the first Seminole to become a nurse. In 1967, the Seminole nation elected her as their chairperson. Jumper became the first woman to lead an Indian nation. Today, she continues to work hard to improve living conditions for the Seminole.