Sat-Okh (c. 1920 – 3 July 2003), also known as Stanisław Supłatowicz, was a soldier in the Polish Resistance during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Purportedly born in

Northwest Territories, Canada The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated pop ...

, he later published autobiographical children's books under the name ''Sat-Okh.'' These were translated into several European languages. He claimed to be Polish-

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

and to have grown up in Canada among

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

people. His mother was Polish and returned with him to Poland before World War II. In the postwar years, he became an important figure in the Polish "indianist" movement. There has been considerable controversy as to whether his accounts were a hoax, as his books reflect culture and customs not associated with the peoples of the Northwest Territories.

Early life

Stanisław Supłatowicz claimed to be born in Canada about 1922 as the son of a Polish mother, Stanisława Okulska, and a Shawnee father. Poland was within the sphere of the Russian Empire; after the Russian Revolution, Okulska was exiled to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. She escaped to the east, making her way to Canada. There she was taken in by Native Americans, marrying a Shawnee man, and bringing up their three children among his people. The third child was Stanisław Supłatowicz. In the late 1930s Sat-Okh and his mother moved to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Because Supłatowicz, as a Native American, did not have a Canadian citizenship, he had to create a birth certificate to gain the Polish one. In order to do it, his mother changed some of his data to hide his Native American ancestry.

Military career

In 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Supłatowicz joined the Polish resistance movement. He was arrested by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

in 1940 and deported to

Auschwitz-Birkenau Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

. He escaped from the train transport on the way to the

camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

. Supłatowicz joined the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

in Poland, where he gained a nickname ''Kozak'' because of his bravery and fighting style based on making traps. During

Supłatowicz earned several medals, including the Cross of Valour. After the war he was arrested and imprisoned by the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

for his participation in the Home Army. After his release, he enlisted in the Polish Navy, where he served for six years.

Literary career

Under the name Sat Okh, Stanisław Supłatowicz published several autobiographical novels for children in Polish. They were translated into several European languages including Russian and were very popular in the former USSR. The books describe a boy's childhood and coming of age among the Shawnee in the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

in the 1930s. Critics and reviewers of his work have noted that many of his descriptions are of First Nations life and customs associated with an earlier time period and with peoples of other geographical locations. The Shawnee do not live in the Northwest Territories. Sat Okh died in

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

on July 3, 2003.

Works

* ''Ziemia słonych skał'' (''The Land of Salt Rocks'') (1958) * ''Biały mustang'' (''White Mustang'') (1959) * ''Dorogi skhodyat'sya'' (''Roads Merge'') (in Russian with Antonina Rasulova) (1973) * ''Powstanie człowieka'' (''The Emergence of Man'') (1981) * ''Fort nad Athabaską'' (''Fort over Athabaska'') (with Yackta-Oya) (1985) * ''Głos prerii'' (''Sounds of the Prairie'') (1990) * ''Tajemnica Rzeki Bobrów'' (''The Mystery of Beaver River'') (1996) * ''Serce Chippewaya'' (''Chippewa's Heart'') (1999) * ''Walczący Lenapa'' (''Fighting Lenapa'') (2001)

Notes

References

Stephen Glantz, ''Like A Hero Going Home, Sat Okh.'' This is a novel based on the true story of Sat Okh, the Shawnee of Black River, Susanna Lea Associates.

External links

"Sat-Okh Museum in Poland""Sat Okh"A documentary and an interview about the life of Sat-OkhLiterary heritage of Sat-OkhMuseum of Sat-OkhИндейцы армии Крайовой: Как Польша придумала красный вестерн
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sat Okh 2003 deaths Polish resistance members of World War II Polish male writers 20th-century Polish writers 21st-century Polish writers Polish children's writers Polish sailors Year of birth uncertain Western (genre) writers Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) People from Gdańsk Artists from Gdańsk Military personnel from Gdańsk Writers from Gdańsk People from Radom Home Army members People of Shawnee descent Historical controversies Controversies in Poland Cultural appropriation People from the Northwest Territories