Born in 1842, May wrote fanciful works of Cowboys and Indians, which collectively sold 200 million copies. He was one of the most beloved writers of all time among Germans. His fans include Adolf Hitler and Albert Einstein.
Susanne Vees-Gulani is co-director of Case Western Reserve’s German Studies program, and a presenter at the symposium. She says May’s work especially inspired East Germans during the Cold War, who went to great lengths to create detailed versions of Native American clothes, tools, and even villages complete with tipis.
“Knowing Communism, you know how hard it is to actually get any materials," she explains. "This was a huge endeavor, they were trying to hunt down instructions on how to make the clothing, and they lived as Native Americans.”
Movies were also made, though Apache Chief Winnetou was played by a Frenchman, while the scenes were shot in Croatia.
MOVIECLIP: “The white man have slain our brother, Black Eagle. They build tracks for their iron horse on our land without asking us. They have been destroying all our buffalo. Today, they shot the holy white buffalo. Mne-tschuna(?) wants blood. The elders want war, too!”
May himself never set foot in the Old West, only making it as far as Chicago before he died in 1912.
But Vees-Gulani says May’s writing endures because of the epic landscapes he painted with words, and she herself played with toy canoes and did the “blood brother” ritual with friends.
The symposium runs through Thursday night on the Case Western Reserve campus.