legal Chinese residents to carry a certificate of admission, something Polly lacked. Despite Idaho's anti-miscegenation laws, the Bemises were wed by a white judge, who himself was married to a Tukudeka Indian." Books and films about her life A biography was written in the 1970s – see Idaho County's Most Romantic Character: Polly Bemis by Sister M Alfreda Elsensohn (published by Benedictine Sisters; Second Printing in 1987). Thousand Pieces of Gold is a 1981 biographical historical novel about Lalu Nathoy/Polly Bemis and includes an essay in which the author, Ruthanne Lum McCunn, documents her research for the book and her discoveries in the years since Polly's death. This novel was later adapted into the 1991 film Thousand Pieces of Gold, starring Rosalind Chao (as Polly) and Chris Cooper (as Charlie). Polly Bemis: A Chinese American Pioneer, written by Priscilla Wegars and published in 2003, is a noted elementary classroom history book. The Poker Bride: The First Chinese in the Wild West, by Christopher Corbett (2010). Wild Women of the Old West, pp. 45–68, 200–203, edited by Glenda Riley and Richard W. Etulain, Golden, CO: Fulcrum (2003), . See also The Concubine's Children Afong Moy References Further reading External links Biography of Charles Bemis Classroom lesson guide from the University of Idaho Encyclopedia of World Biography entry on Polly Bemis Photo of Polly Bemis upclose in 1923 Photo of Polly Bemis in front of a cabin, probably 1920s Polly Bemis: A Chinese American Pioneer Polly Bemis Ranch, a National Historic site University of Idaho Asian American Comparative Collection 1853 births 1933 deaths Qing dynasty emigrants to the United States Pre-statehood history of Idaho People from Grangeville, Idaho