Crow King

[nicolas (carlo)]

I noticed there is no thread yet on Crow King, Kangi Yatapi...

Looking for some specific details that I haven't been able to find on this important Hunkpapa individual: when was he born, and when was he made chief?

Thanks,
Carlo

[nicolas (carlo)]

Ok, should have waited a few minutes before posting: his birth year is c.1838, as listed in Ephriam's Sitting Bull Surrender Ledger. Would still like to know when he was made chief though...
Carlo

[miller7513]

Carlo
this is some of what I have
Sitting Bull surrender census pg 34
At the time of his surrender in 1881, his family consisted of his wife, Red White Buffalo Cow (Ptesan Luta win), age 26, and his two daughters: Weasel (Hintunkasan), age 5, [who was later known as Mary] and Red Deer Kid (Tingle ska luta) age 1 [later known as Emma]. his wife at the time of his death was a woman named Anna Tokeyahinanpewin (Woman Who Comes Out First
A witness at their wedding was listed as Tasina Luta (Red Blanket)
Crow King, Kangi Yatapi, Hunkpapa Sioux, chief, lead 80 warriors in valley, on Reno Hill, on Custer Ridge

He had a brother, Swift Bear
Descendants of
Spotted Eagle (---) and Loud Mud Hen (---)


1. Spotted Eagle1 (---), born 1825 in Oglala Lakota Nation. He married Loud Mud Hen ((---)) (---), born 1829 in Oglala Lakota Nation.

Notes for Spotted Eagle (---)
Sitting Bull Surrender Census family # 15
Spotted Eagle b 1828
Her Pretty Road b 1838
White Princess dau b 1856
Better Woman dau b 1861
Clumsly Legs son b 1873
First Walker dau b 1877
White Buffalo Cow dau b 1877

1 Jul 1885 Standing Rock pg 66
30 Jun 1886 Standing Rock pg 267
30 Jun 1887 Standing Rock pg 456
30 Jun 1888 Standing Rock pg 682
30 Jun 1889 Standing Rock pg 69
30 Jun 1890 Standing Rock pg 238
30 Jun 1891 Standing Rock pg 348

Notes for Loud Mud Hen (---)
1 Jul 1885 Standing Rock pg 66 Loud Voice Mud Hen
30 Jun 1886 Standing Rock pg 267 Loud Mud Hen
30 Jun 1887 Standing Rock pg 456 Loud Mud Hen
30 Jun 1888 Standing Rock pg 682 Loud Mud Hen
30 Jun 1889 Standing Rock pg 69 Mud Hen
30 Jun 1890 Standing Rock pg 238 Loud Mud Hen
30 Jun 1891 Standing Rock pg 348 Mud Hen

Children of Spotted Eagle (---) and Loud Mud Hen (---) were as follows:
+ 2 i Red Bird2 (---), born 1855 in Oglala Sioux Nation. She married Crow King (---).
3 ii All Good2 (---), born 1861 in Oglala Lakota Nation. Notes: 1 Jul 1885 Standing Rock pg 66
4 iii Run Following2 (---), born 1872 in Oglala Lakota Nation. Notes: 1 Jul 1885 Standing Rock pg 66
5 iv White Cow2 (---), born 1874 in Oglala Lakota Nation. Notes: 1 Jul 1885 Standing Rock pg 66
6 v Walking First2 (---), born 1874 in Oglala Lakota Nation. Notes: 1 Jul 1885 Standing Rock pg 66 Walking First 30 Jun 1886 Standing Rock pg 267 Running With

Generation 2

2. Red Bird2 (---) (Spotted Eagle1), born 1855 in Oglala Sioux Nation. She married Crow King (---), born 1838 in Oglala Sioux Nation; died 1884 in Standing Rock Reservation, son of Lone Dog (---).

Notes for Red Bird (---)
Woman Who Comes Out First
Sitting Bull surrender census pg 34 Red White Buffalo Cow

Notes for Crow King (---)
Sitting Bull surrender census pg 34
At the time of his surrender in 1881, his family consisted of his wife, Red White Buffalo Cow (Ptesan Luta win), age 26, and his two daughters: Weasel (Hintunkasan), age 5, [who was later known as Mary] and Red Deer Kid (Tingle ska luta) age 1 [later known as Emma]. his wife at the time of his death was a woman named Anna Tokeyahinanpewin (Woman Who Comes Out First
A witness at their wedding was listed as Tasina Luta (Red Blanket)
Crow King, Kangi Yatapi, Hunkpapa Sioux, chief, lead 80 warriors in valley, on Reno Hill, on Custer Ridge 1884

He had a brother, Swift Bear

Children of Red Bird (---) and Crow King (---) were as follows:
7 i White Buffalo3 (---), born in Oglala Sioux Nation; died 25 Jul 1876 in Little Big Horn, Montana.
8 ii Mary3 Crow King, born 1872 in Oglala Sioux Nation. Notes: Sittine Bull surrender census pg 34 Weasel 30 Jun 1885 Standing Rock pg 66 Mary 30 Jun 1886 Standing Rock
9 iii Emma3 Crow King, born 1876 in Oglala Sioux Nation. Notes: Sittine Bull surrender census pg 34 Red Deer Kid 30 Jun 1885 Standing Rock pg 66 Emma 30 Jun 1886 Standing Rock 30 Jun 1890 Standing Rock pg 238 Emma Crow King with Grandparents Spotted Eagle and Loud Mud Hen 30 Jun 1891 Standing Rock pg 348 Emma Crow King with Grandparents Spotted Eagle and Mud Hen 30 Jun 1892 Standing Rock pg 497 30 Jun 1896 Standing Rock niece of Joseph Rosebud and Anne cousin of James Rosebud

LaDeane

[nicolas (carlo)]

Thanks LaDeane, very interesting indeed.

Based on his 1838 birth, I expect Crow King to have been made chief in the early 1870s, but would like to have a more definitive year.

Carlo

[miller7513]

Carlo
White Face or Anne, wife of Joseph Rosebud was the daughter of High Bear and White (White Woman)
LaDeane

[miller7513]

Carlo-I just found one source that states Crow King was already a chief in 1867 when Sitting Bull was made Chief of the Sioux Nation page 92 "Sitting Bull" Stanley Vestal
LaDeane

[miller7513]

Robert M Utley “The Lance and The Shield”
The Strong Hearts were founded by Sitting Bull, Gall, and Crow King-pg 18
1880, Crow King a minor Chief pg 119
Crow King died suddenly in the spring of 1884, with Black Robe administering the last rights-pg 251
LaDeane

[nicolas (carlo)]

LaDeane, thanks; so it was already before 1867 that he was a headman, that narrows it down some more.
Carlo

[ladonna]

Bismarck Tribune, he died of "quick consumption" from a long lasting cold and received the rites and sacraments of the Catholic Church. Crow King wife was named “Woman Who Comes Out First” Tokeyahinanpewin took the name Anna. Crow King died in 4-5-1884, cause of death according to the 4-11-1884. His orphaned daughters, Mary Laura Crow King "Weasel" (Hintunkasan) b. 1876 died in 1889 and Emma Crow King "Red Deer Kid" (Tingleskaluta) b. 1880 married Paul Cournoyer and removed to Armour, South Dakota with their two children.

[ladonna]

Crow King said he had two brothers killed in the fight; that from thirty to fifty Indians were killed, and a much larger number, who were wounded, died afterward. After finally surrendering to the Whites, Crow King soon recognized that to survive, his people must adopt many of the white ways. This reasoning put him in direct opposition with some leaders of the tribe including the very popular Sitting Bull. Crow King held fast in his beliefs and insisted that his people get a good education and was instrumental in the formation of schools on the reservation.

[gregor]

Talking about Crow King - we should have a photo here:

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BTW - is it true that his daughters were adopted by James McLaughlin?

[ladonna]

Yes we know that Emma was adopted by James and Mary Louise McLaughlin

[glenbow]

Stanley Vestal mentioned in one of his writings that Crow King became a chief in the mid-1850s. I'm sorry I can't recall offhand the exact year or source of that information but I will search for it. Crow King is often referred to in various sources as having been a band leader, and sometimes mentioned as a War Chief. The name of his band is also debated but it may have been called Talonapin. Crow King is said to have had other names during his lifetime, including Burns the Medicine Bundle, and Wopide. His Christian name at the time of his death was Joachim Crowking.

I'm not sure about the accuracy of the information that says he was a descendant of Spotted Eagle of the Oglala. I have never seen any other sources claiming that Crow King had any ties to that Division of the Teton Lakota. There may be some confusion due to the true identity of the man listed as Swift Bear. Although Crow King did have a brother named Swift Bear, he was Hunkpapa, not Oglala. Swift Bear and another brother, White Bull (White Buffalo?), were killed during Reno's retreat to the bluffs across the river during the opening phase of the Custer Battle.
Although James McLaughlin recounted in his book 'My Friend the Indian' that he and his wife Marie adopted Crow King's two daughters, Mary & Emma, after the death of the chief and his wife in 1884, I have never found any evidence to prove that this was an official adoption. Both Crow King's daughters were mentioned in an annuities record from Standing Rock the following year as belonging to the band of the Hunkpapa Chief High Bear. There is an interesting connection there because McLaughlin also wrote that Crow King had a brother by the name of High Bear who died before he did in 1884.

Mary, the eldest daughter, died in 1889, as I recall. Emma was still living at Standing Rock in 1895, and was listed in that year's census as living with the family of a Lakota man named Joseph Rosebud. His stepmother, Skawin, or White Woman, was also part of the household at that time. I believe she may have been Crow King's younger sister, and McLaughlin stated that Crow King had at least two living sisters at the time of his death. Later, McLaughlin arranged for Emma to attend the Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma, but he requested her return to Fort Yates sometime around 1900 to keep his wife company when she was grieving the death of one of her own children.

Emma met an Agency clerk named Paul Cournoyer around this time whom she married and had two children with, Joseph Paul and Herminie. Paul Cournoyer, the father, died in a freak lightning accident at Standing Rock sometime around 1906 and Emma died two years later from Tuberculosis. Her children, Joe Paul and Herminie, were raised by their paternal grandmother in Armour, South Dakota, but no other direct descendants of Crow King are known to survive today.

[glenbow]

I found my source for the year Crow King was made a chief. Stanley Vestal wrote in his book New Sources of Indian History that the year was 1858, so Crow King would have been about twenty years old. He may also have received the name Kangi Yatapi at that time, after having been called Burns-The-Medicine-Bundle as a youth. Vestal visited Standing Rock in the 1920s and 30s and interviewed many Hunkpapa Elders who knew Crow King who insisted this information was accurate.

[nicolas (carlo)]

Okay, 1858 it is. It was uncommon to have been a chief or itancan by twenty years old, but a war leader (blotahunka) makes sense.