A Lantern in Her Hand

In A Lantern in Her Hand, Aldrich alludes to the fighting between white settlers and Indigenous groups in various regions as the United States attempted to grow its land and population. While Abbie is considered a pioneer because she and her husband are the first to create a society in Nebraska, this isn’t technically true. The state that is now known as Nebraska was home to Indigenous tribes for thousands of years: the Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche, Cheyenne, and the Great Sioux Nation. In the Treaty of 1854, the Omaha tribe ceded most of their land to the United States government. The Omaha were established in Nebraska after the treaty with a reservation that still exists today. Between 1857 and 1862, tribes all over Nebraska were forced to give up their land or die. In the 19th century, the US government passed several laws controlling Indigenous land known as the Homestead Acts. Ultimately, Abbie and Will’s goal to settle in Nebraska is connected to this history. Abbie is frightened of an Indigenous attack, highlighting that she is anxious about being on land that doesn’t belong to her. Will and Abbie build a white settler town regardless, which also highlights the spirit of American exceptionalism and the belief in Manifest Destiny at that time.