From an early age, Ellison Myers Brown knew he was fast.
鈥淲hen his mom wanted to send a message, a family message within the Narragansett Tribe 鈥� they would send him to run and deliver the message,鈥� recalls his granddaughter, Anna Brown-Jackson.
鈥淎 lot of the aunts and uncles said when he would get there, he鈥檇 tell them the message and then he鈥檇 sit down and eat,鈥� she laughs. 鈥淚nvite himself for dinner.鈥�
Running ran in Brown鈥檚 family. His uncle had been a competitive distance runner. Brown鈥檚 traditional name was 鈥淒eerfoot,鈥� but as a boy he took on the nickname 鈥淭arzan.鈥� And it stuck.
It was the 1930s, a time when many people believed the Narragansett tribe had vanished into the history books.
But Brown took the Narragansett name and ran with it, propelling the tribe out of obscurity and smashing through centuries of racial erasure with a stunning victory in the Boston Marathon.
鈥淪ome people have never heard about Tarzan Brown; a lot have not,鈥� Brown-Jackson says. 鈥淧eople are becoming more aware of him now as time is going on.鈥�
Powerful path out of poverty
Endurance running is a tradition that goes back centuries in Native American cultures.
Historian Mack Scott is a citizen of the Narragansett Tribe. He directs Brown University鈥檚 undergraduate Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative and wrote a for the journal 鈥淓thnohistory.鈥�
鈥淐ommunication 鈥� just like today 鈥� knowledge is power,鈥� Scott says. 鈥淭raversing the lands as fast as possible was power.鈥�
鈥淭he runners that were able to do that would be people that were of great importance,鈥� he says.
But her grandfather also saw competitive running as a way out of poverty, Brown-Jackson said.
鈥淭hese were runners in the Depression era, so jobs were hard to come by. But especially being an Indian in this area, it was 10 times worse because a lot of people didn鈥檛 want to hire you,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey would have signs in the windows, 鈥楴o Indians鈥� and things like that.鈥�
Brown left school to become a stonemason, but he also began entering races. Before a race, he鈥檇 check out the cash value of prizes on the winner鈥檚 table and figure out which prizes he wanted or needed 鈥� that helped him figure out how fast or slow to run.
Sometimes he鈥檇 let another runner win.
鈥淢y grandmother said one time he [wanted] a Frigidaire, so he came in second,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut I mean how many people will come in second to get a Frigidaire? A lot of people won鈥檛.鈥�
Birth of a Boston Marathon legend
In 1935, Brown entered the Boston Marathon, following in the footsteps of another Indigenous runner, Tom Longboat, of the Onondaga Nation. He won the race in 1907. Brown didn鈥檛 place first, but got plenty of attention. His shoes gave out and he finished the final miles barefoot.
The next year, all eyes were on Brown and star runner Johnny Kelley. About five miles from the finish line, they were dueling for the lead, heading up a treacherous hill.
鈥淛ohnny Kelley caught up to him and, like, patted him as if to say 鈥楪ood job, I鈥檒l take it from here,鈥欌�� Brown-Jackson recalls. 鈥淎nd my grandfather, when he got the pat on the back he took off like a bat out of you know where!鈥�
The two battled it out till Brown surged ahead, winning the 1936 Boston Marathon.
That section of the course is still known today as Heartbreak Hill because 鈥渉e broke Johnny Kelley鈥檚 heart,鈥� Brown-Jackson says.
鈥楶aper genocide鈥� to international star
As Brown surged past the finish line, a group of Narragansett citizens dressed in Native regalia were there watching. Newspaper headlines were quick to pick up the international story: 鈥�.鈥�
It was a headline emblazoned with pride for Native communities, says Lor茅n Spears, a member of the Narragansett Tribal Nation and executive director of the Indigenous-led Tomaquag Museum in Rhode Island. Brown鈥檚 victory came at a time when the history books were writing that the Narragansetts no longer existed.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e saying we don鈥檛 exist, because on their paper genocide, we don鈥檛 exist,鈥� Spears says.
Historically, Native peoples have endured many forms of loss 鈥� land theft, violence, disease, she says. The term 鈥減aper genocide鈥� refers to ways Indigenous identities were made to disappear from archival records.
鈥淥ne of the ways to erase people was on official documents,鈥� she says.
Native race and identity were often changed in the historical records. This is seen in documents from the Revolutionary War, Spears says.
鈥淎 gentleman would go into the regiment as Narragansett, as Indian, and come out of the regiment as 鈥榗olored,鈥� 鈥榤ulatto,鈥� 鈥榤usty鈥� or Negro,鈥� Spears says. 鈥淭he person didn鈥檛 change, but the document changed.鈥�
This race-shifting fed into a widespread myth that Native Americans were destined to become extinct. In 1880, the state of Rhode Island attempted to 鈥榙etribalize鈥� the Narragansetts. The state abolished Narragansett tribal authority and forced the sale of their lands.
Historian Mack Scott says it was a way for the state to pretty much say 鈥渢hat鈥檚 it.鈥�
鈥淭hey wipe their hands, and in the language, they say, 鈥楾he name of the Narragansett now passes forever into the history books,鈥欌�� he says.
A Rhode Island Supreme Court ruling upheld detribalization in 1898, and there was no mention of the tribe in Rhode Island records until the 1930s 鈥� right near the time Tarzan Brown won the Boston Marathon.
All along, the Narragansetts were still here 鈥� they had continued to hold community meetings and their annual powwows. But Spears says Brown鈥檚 marathon victory sent a powerful message.
鈥淎nd put us not on a local stage, not on a regional stage, not just on a national stage, but on an international stage,鈥� Spears says. 鈥淲hile we鈥檙e invisible as a people, when we鈥檝e been detribalized, that鈥檚 really important.鈥�
A legacy lives on
Brown鈥檚 1936 Boston Marathon win earned him a place on the U.S. Olympic team, but that run was cut short by an injury. In 1939, Brown won the Boston Marathon for a second time, this time setting an American men鈥檚 record.
Decades later, in 1983, the Narragansett Tribe received federal recognition.
Today, hundreds of people gather each November in Mystic, 黑料吃瓜网, for an annual run in his honor. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Tarzan Brown Mystic River Run.
鈥淲hat a great day,鈥� the announcer said as the race started. 鈥淎nd what a great time to honor one of the best runners in the world, Ellison Tarzan Brown.鈥�
Indigenous runner Patti Dillon of the Mi鈥檏maq Nation, who鈥檚 set multiple world records, says she came out to honor Brown.
鈥淩unning is a part of our culture and it is hard,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 so rewarding and nobody can do it for you. So, therefore, nobody can take it away.鈥�
Tarzan Brown died in the 1970s. Brown-Jackson said organizers approached her grandmother and asked if they could name a race in his honor.
Anna Brown-Jackson says she鈥檚 proud to share her grandfather鈥檚 story. It鈥檚 heartwarming, she says.
鈥淟etting people know about my grandfather, he was an unsung hero for a long time,鈥� she said. 鈥滻t鈥檚 just good to see him get the recognition he deserves.鈥�
Read more from Still Here: Native American Resilience in New England
Chapter 1: For Native Americans, an enduring spiritual connection to the land
Chapter 2: The hidden history of Indigenous slavery in New England and beyond
Chapter 3: 'Unsung hero:' How runner Tarzan Brown put the Narragansett tribe on the map in the 1930s
Chapter 4: Amid mist and music: A Native American reverence for water, celebrated on the banks of the CT River
Chapter 5: Power of powwow: A cultural connection echoes across generations of Native Americans
