Minnie Devereaux

Minnie Devereaux (1869–1923) was an American silent film actress. Also known as "Minnie Provost," "Indian Minnie," or "Minnie Ha-Ha," Devereaux held at least 14 roles, beginning in 1913 with Old Mammy’s Secret Code and ending with the 1923 release of The Girl of the Golden West.[3] A few sources say Devereaux was a Cheyenne and the daughter of Chief Plenty Horses.[4]. In a 1917 interview published in the Mack Sennett Weekly Ha Ha states that she was born to Cheyenne parents who fled G. A. Custer's Army during the Battle of the Ltttle Bighorn, an event that took place when she was eight years old.[5]

Minnie Devereaux
Devereaux and Mabel Normand on cover of Mack Sennett Weekly, 1917
Born	c. 1869 [1] Oklahoma
Died	June 5, 1923(1923-06-05) (aged 53–54) [2] Los Angeles, California
Other names	Indian Minnie Minnie Ha-ha Minnie Provost Minnie Prevost
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1913–1923

Early life

Devereaux was born in the Oklahoma Territory in a small town named Canadian, Oklahoma.[1] Movie trade magazines claimed she studied at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, a Pennsylvania boarding school for Native American students,[6][7] and she appears on the Carlisle rolls as Minerva Burgess of Cheyenne and Arapaho heritage. Her father is listed as "Plenty of Horses."[8]

She married Oliver Provost and had four children: Fred (b. 1896), Sadie (b. 1899), Alfred (b. 1902), and Lucy (b. 1906).[1]

Early career

Fatty and Minnie He-Haw

Devereaux starred alongside Roscoe Arbuckle in the 1914 silent comedy film Fatty and Minnie He-Haw, directed by Arbuckle. Devereaux is featured as a Native American, whom Arbuckle reluctantly marries after being rescued by her tribe. Arbuckle pursues a white woman in town, played by Minta Durfee, but is driven back when Devereaux discovers his disloyalty. Outraged, the tribe prepares to burn him for his traitorous behavior, but Devereaux spares him in an act of love.[7]

Other works

Devereaux worked with producer and "king of comedy" Mack Sennett on Fatty and Minnie He-Haw, as well as the 1918 film Mickey and the 1922 film Suzanna, both films directed by F. Richard Jones. In 1920 Minnie worked with director James Cruze on the film Food for Scandal, the cinematic version of Paul Kester's play A Picture of Rare Delight.[9] Devereaux was an actress in high demand, working with various production companies on the east coast, including Kay-Bee Pictures, New York Motion Picture, and Sennett's Keystone Studios.[6][10]

Food for Scandal (1920) review in Moving Picture World

Controversy

Despite being heralded as a dignified professional, Devereaux suffered through racial tension in 1910s America.[6]

Devereaux was subject to typecasting, holding roles that often made fun of her weight, and her Native American heritage.[6] She is often referred to as a squaw, a derogatory slur for Native Americans, both in reviews and in reference to her characters' titles within such films.[6] Peter Milne, a film critic and eventual screenwriter, berated Deveraux for her age and appearance, calling her "ancient" in his review of Mickey; Devereaux was only 27 years old at the time of the film's release.[11]

An article in Photoplay details an encounter between Devereaux and a belligerent white woman. On a crowded street car, the woman intentionally took up available space in order to prevent Devereaux from sitting nearby. Devereaux interrupted the conductor of the street car, who insisted that the woman move her belongings, saying that she would rather stand than to sit next to such a woman.[6]

Despite this unease, many in the film business were aware of, and respected Devereaux's wit, dignity, and talents as an actress. Motion Picture Magazine recounts a chance encounter between Devereaux and actor Bertram Grassby, who commented on the actress' persona:[12]

During the conversation, the name of Minnie, a fat, old Indian woman who has almost become a moving picture institution, was mentioned and he commented laughingly on her way of always saying and doing the unexpected thing.

— Beth Trepel, "A Dryadic Dramatist", Motion Picture Magazine

The encounter involved Grassby tipping his hat toward Devereaux, which prompted her to question the meaning of the act.[12] Devereaux often poked fun at other actors, and at directors during the production of a film.[6]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1913	Old Mammy's Secret Code		Credited as Minnie Prevost
1914	Fatty and Minnie He-Haw	Minnie He-Haw
1915	The Coward	Mammy
1918	Mickey	Minnie	Credited as Minnie Ha Ha
1919	A Daughter of the Wolf	Mrs. Beavertail
	Rose of the West	Natoosh	Credited as Minna Prevost
1920	Up in Mary's Attic	Herself	Credited as Minnie Ha Ha
	'If Only' Jim	Squaw
	Food for Scandal	Paola	Credited as Minnie Provost
1921	A Ridin' Romeo	Squaw
	By Right of Birth		Credited as Minnie Prevost
1923	The Girl of the Golden West	The Squaw
	Suzanna	Herself	Credited as Indian Minnie

References

1. United States Census 1910, El Reno Ward, Oklahoma, retrieved August 2, 2018
2. California Death Index, 1905-1939, retrieved August 2, 2018
3. Fussell, Betty Harper (1982). Mabel. New Haven: Ticknor & Fields. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-89919-090-7.
4. Malinowski, Sharon; Abrams, George H. J. (1995). Notable native Americans. New York: Gale Research. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-8103-9638-8.
5. Reservation Reelism... retrieved May 1, 2019
6. Peltret, Elizabeth (April 1918), "With the Big Show!", Photoplay, p. 114, archived from the original on 1993, retrieved November 5, 2014
7. "Stories of the New Photoplays", Reel Life, p. 8, December 1914, archived from the original on 1993, retrieved November 5, 2014
8. Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center, retrieved August 6, 2018
9. "Moving Picture World". Periodical. Chalmers Publishing Company. November 1920 – via lantern.mediahist.org.
10. E. T., H. (September 1919), "The Picture Oracle", Picture-Play Magazine, p. 101, archived from the original on 1993, retrieved November 5, 2014
11. Milne, Peter (September 1918), "The Screen in Review", Picture-Play Magazine, p. 126, archived from the original on 1993, retrieved November 5, 2014
12. Trepel, Beth (August 1911), "A Dryadic Dramatist", Motion Picture Magazine, p. 77, archived from the original on July 24, 2014, retrieved November 5, 2014

External links

• Works by or about Minnie Devereaux at Internet Archive
• Minnie Devereaux on IMDb
• Indian Woman Tells History, from Mack Sennett Weekly, vol. I, February 12, 1917