Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe

by David Maraniss

Jim honored traditional Indian culture and never bought into the school’s attempts to drain the Indianness from his people. He wanted to be judged and accepted on his own terms.

“The government insists on special legislation for the Indian. It is all done under the guise of… offering him protection. But that’s a lot of hooey.

There are poor down-and-out Indians, sure there are. But there are poor down-and-out Irishmen, Scotsmen, and Germans, too, aren’t there? And listen, there hasn’t been a single poor Indian helped by any of this legislation. The Indian who has the money is the Indian the government is always trying to protect.”

All-American football player. Olympic track champion. Major leaguer. Founding president of the NFL.

The first mistake was the glorification of Warner, glossing over Pop’s self-serving cover-up when Jim lost the Olympic medals,

The portrayal also reflected a larger issue: what happens when a film about an American Indian, even if well-intentioned, is filtered through the comprehensive whiteness of its creative team and cast.

“And so Jim found himself and was again on the true path, the bright path, teaching and helping young people everywhere. This was his greatest victory.”

If they were meant to be traveling trophies, why were they not then passed along to the next pentathlon and decathlon gold medalists?

“An unfortunate fact that might be construed to be a sad commentary on the human race is that its greatest athlete of all time, Jim Thorpe, spent most of his life surrounded by heartbreak and disappointment,” wrote Paul Zimmerman. “P.S. Jim Thorpe’s frustration and heartbreak is at an end.”

Once again, a white person was deciding what was best for an Indian.

Instead, the IOC declared him cochampion with the athletes who finished second, Ferdinand Bie of Norway and Hugo Wieslander of Sweden, the runners-up who had been named gold medalists when Jim was disqualified.

Finally, Ali says, ‘Man, Poor Jim Thorpe. Even in death he can’t rest in peace.

with intentions considered pure and enlightened, the federal government forced thousands of Indian children to assimilate and acculturate to white norms and expectations. Kill the Indian, save the man. Some resisted, many suffered, some thrived, most learned the nuances of how to survive while maintaining their identity as Native Americans. Jim Thorpe became a symbol for almost all of that. At times he resisted. At times he suffered. At times he thrived. And he survived.