in north topeka, 1860 . kaw, osage, french, and white dissent. his father is a white man, owen curtis. he comes originally, his ancestors are passengers on the is mader, a lot of hay with that. when he is a candidate. it's got the indian on one side, pilgrims on the other. piece. great p.t. what makes and so remarkable, i think, is the fact that he is a mixed blood growing up in a time that makes that very difficult. any somehow, i think by sheer force of his personality, makes all that an advantage. i know one historian said he played the indian card when it worked, he played a white card when it worked. that might be true, but i think that it oversimplifies his experience and it is unfair to him. me'ink he chose the white s becauseworld society forced that choice on him, but it most certainly did. charles curtis' family, his mother's family, operated the ferry that went from north to begin the south size of the kansas -- side of the kansas river. he does not come from a poor family. they are always working, but their people of means. has an all