Lower Brule bands & leaders

[Dietmar]

Does anyone have information about the bands of the Kul Wicasa or Lower Brule Nation and the names applied to them? The Lower Brule traditionally seem to have nine bands or tiospayes, and in historical records there were almost always nine leaders representing them.

Here is a list of names I found in various records below:

Treaty with the Sioux, Lower Brule Band, 1865

Chiefs:
Muz-zah-wy-ah-tay, The Iron Nation
Tah-ton-kah-wak-kon, Medicine Bull
Pta-son-we-chak-tay, The One who Killed the White Buffalo Cow
She-o-tche-kah, Little Pheasant
Pta-san-man-nee, White Buffalo Cow that walks
Chon-tay-o-kit-e-kah, The Brave Heart
Tah-o-pee, The Wounded Man
Wag-ah-mo-ah-win, The Gourd Ear Rings
E-chap-sin-ta-muz-zah, The Iron Whip

Chief soldiers:
Ze-te-kah-dan-sap-pah, The Blackbird
Wah-hah-chunki-e-un-ka, The Shield that Runs
Muck-a-pee-e-chash-nah, The Cloud that Rattles
Is-to-o-pee, The Wounded Arm
Min-do-ton-kah-che-kah, The Little Partisan
Wah-min-dee-shon-ton-kah, The War Eagle with Large Feathers

Treaty of 1868

Iron Nation
Medicine Bull
One Who Kills the White Buffalo Cow
Little Pheasant
White Buffalo Cow That Walks
Brave Heart
Wounded Man
Gourd Ear Rings
Iron White

Treaty of 1876

"Maza-oyate, [Iron Nation,]
Tatanka-wakan, [Medicine Bull,]
Ptesan-wicakte, [White Buffalo Cow,]
Xiyocikala, [Little Pheasant,]
Tatanka-pa, [Buffalo Head,]
Marpiya-inajin, [Standing Cloud,]
Cante-wicuwa, [Useful Heart,]
Mato-xake-hanska, [Long Bear Claws,]
Ixna-wica, [Only Man,]

Petition of 1880, signed by

Iron Nation
Medicine Bull
Handsome Elk
Dead Hand
Little Pheasant
Bull Head
Big Mane
Bear Bird (Headman)

1882 Petition by men who signed themselves “Chiefs”:

Iron Nation
Medicine Bull
One Who Kills White Buffalo
Little Pheasant
Bullhead
Useful Heart
Shawalla
Long Claws
Standing Cloud
Knee
Black Dog
Big Mane
Handsome Elk
One Who Plays With



There are four tiospaye chiefs who lead their people through all the years from 1865 to 1882, which are Iron Nation (considered by many as the principal chief of all Lower Brule bands), Medicine Bull, Little Pheasant and The One Who Kills the White Buffalo Cow.


Btw, in one of the documents (1880) it is stated how the Lower Brules separated from the Upper Brules in 1826:

“The undersigned chiefs do further say […] that in the year 1826, the whole Brule tribe was encamped at the Lost Timber, near the head of the Niobrara River, that a division of the tribe there took place in consequence of a quarrel about a woman, and of a conflict with each other, in which many on both sides were slain, that the majority of the people went from there to the South Platte River, and that the part of the tribe now known as the Lower Brule Tribe retired to the head of the White Earth River, and that by mutual consent the line dividing the two parts of the tribe was declared to be at or near White Clay Creek and Antelope Creek, that for several years afterward the Lower Brule people lived permanently at C[illegible] Creek and planted there, and that subsequently some of them moved over to the Keya Paha River and made gardens at Turtle Hill [south of Winner], that during all this time the principal chief of the Brule Tribe lived with the Lower Brules, and remained with them until he died…”

[kingsleybray]

Dietmar, as you know there were two lists of Brule (Sichangu) bands obtained in the early reservation period by missionaries/ethnologists S. R. Riggs and J. O. Dorsey. Although printed as if each were a list of the whole Brule tribe, on reflection it is obvious that the list obtained by Rev. W. J. Cleveland in 1884 pertained to the Upper Brules at Rosebud Agency, where Cleveland worked; while the list obtained from chief Medicine Bull (Tatanka Wakan) in 1880 pertains to the Lower Brules or Kul Wichasha at Lower Brule Agency.

Medicine Bull's list is of 13 bands or tiyoshpaye. The numbering reflects places in the Lower Brule camp circle, with no. 1 being at the 'south horn' next to the east-facing camp entrance. Band no. 13 is located at the north horn.

1. Iyakoza, swollen knuckles (on a horse's leg)
2. Choka-towela, blue spot in the middle (but connected to the old band name Middle Village, Choka-tunwan)
3. Shiyo-tanka, Large Grouse (or Prairie Chicken)
4. Homna, smelling of fish
5. Shiyo-suhula, Small Grouse
6. Kangi yuha, Crow Owner
7. Pispiza wichasha, Prairie Dog Men/People
8. Walega-un-wohan, Boils in a Paunchskin
9. Wacheunpa, Meat-Roasters
10. Shawala, Shawnee
11. Ihanktonwan, Yankton
12. Nahpapa, Leggings Hanging Down
13. Apewan-tanka, Big Mane.

With the circle as raw data, I can shine some light onto the tribal structure. By 1880 the population at Lower Brule approximated 1200 people, roughtly 200 lodges. So our thirteen 'bands' are really minimally sized, on average less than 100 people each. Two or more such extended family groups must have formed larger clusters or camps. I suggest that we have a number of clusters recognizable in the circle.

A. Middle Village. Comprises bands 1 and 2, focussed on leadership of Medicine Bull himself. According to Paul High Horse, statement to Fr Buechel in 1915, Medicine Bull was identified with the Iyakoza band. His ancestor Medicine Bull was named as the chief of Middle Village by Tabeau and Lewis & Clark in 1804. This band was considered the Brules proper, the original core of the tribe.

B. Shiyo. Comprises bands 3-5, focussed on leadership of Little Pheasant. His Lakota name was Shiyo Chikala. This band was considered Oglala by Tabeau and Lewis & Clark in 1804, but it later (early 1830s?) dissolved and the main part joined the Brules. They were always considered Lower Brules, preferring the Missouri-lower White river country.

C. Bands 6-8 seem to form another cluster, though this is the one I have the least information on. Band 6, also known as Crow Eaters, Kangi-yutapi, were identified with the family of Oshkate-pi, They Play With Him. A leader of this name signed the Teton Treaty of 1815 as signatory no. 1. Black Bull, leader of the Isanyati band of Brules, had been the leader of the treaty delegation, but he died immediately before the councils. So They Play With Him could have represented the Isanyati band, of which his family-group was one sub-band. Note that band 8 has a name shared with an Upper Brule band, which camped in the Isanyati band cluster in the Rosebud tribal circle. Iron Nation, the Lower Brule principal chief from the 1860s til his death in 1894 belonged to this cluster. Born a Yankton Dakota, he married into band no. 8, Walega-un-wohan.

D. Meat-Roasters. Comprises bands 9-13. Elements of the Minisha (Red Water) and Kiyuksa bands are likely included in this cluster. In the 1830s these three bands occupied the southern edge of the Brule range, along the Niobrara river and in the Nebraska Sand Hills. Shawnee was the name of the Kiyuksa band chief. His grandson was One Who Kills White Buffalo, listed above by Dietmar. The name Sawala is still prominent at Lower Brule. The Yankton band were so-named because of the large number of inmarried Yankton women. Note also that the Yankton have a Wacheunpa band, obviously a sister-band or offshoot. The Nahpapa have a very old name: Joliet on his map of 1673, identified several Dakota-Lakota villages, including Napapa-tunwan. Perhaps this was a name for the ancestral Wacheunpa grouping. FInally, Big Mane, whose band occupies the north horn, may be connected to the Red Water group. The Red Water had a complex history of connection to the Sans Arc Tetons, who settled at Cheyenne River Agency. Note that Iron Eyes, named in the June 1872 account posted by LaDonna as a Lower Brule leader, was rated a Brule living at Cheyenne River Agency in December 1871. Big Mane was listed in the tally of Iron Eyes's Brule band at CRA. In short, I suspect that the Big Mane-Iron Eyes camp moved south from Cheyenne R. in spring 1872 and made its final permanent home at Lower Brule that year.

[kingsleybray]

From Dietmar's post: "There are four tiospaye chiefs who lead their people through all the years from 1865 to 1882, which are Iron Nation (considered by many as the principal chief of all Lower Brule bands), Medicine Bull, Little Pheasant and The One Who Kills the White Buffalo Cow."

Note how these four chiefs, listed consistently in 1865-82, line up with my proposed four band clusters.
Cluster A. Middle Village: Medicine Bull
Cluster B. Shiyo: Little Pheasant
Cluster C. derived from old Isanyati band?: Iron Nation
Cluster D. Meat-Roasters: One Who Kills White Buffalo Cow

[Dietmar]

Wow, thanks Kingsley,

that´s more than I had expected. Unfortunately there are so few articles or books (actually, the Schusky book is the only one I can remember) on the Lower Brule. I had the Dorsey list but could not sort it out.

Here are some of the portraits I collected of Lower Brule leaders:


Iron Nation


Medicine Bull


Little Pheasant


Standing Cloud


Big Mane


Dead Hand


Bull Head aka Buffalo Head


Handsome Elk


Useful Heart


One To Play With aka They Play With Him

[Dietmar]

Regarding the chiefs statement of 1880:

"during all this time the principal chief of the Brule Tribe lived with the Lower Brules, and remained with them until he died"

Is there a source from the Upper Brule chiefs that they acknowledge this?

[kingsleybray]

It's not clear who the chief is they are referring to, Dietmar. Possibly it is Clear Blue Earth, noted by ET Denig as the Brule principal chief in the 1830s. He died c. 1852. Mad Bull, Tatanka Gnaskinyan, signed the Atkinson Treaty in 1825 as Brule signatory no. 1. He died somewhere in the period c. 1844-1850. Both men seem to have been Lower Brule.

The 'boundary' between Upper and Lower corresponds to the line dividing trading posts outfitted from the Missouri and Fort Pierre (i.e. Lower Brules) and from the North Platte and Ft Laramie (the Upper Brules). So I think the distinction was originally a wintering distinction, with all Brules still meeting for Sun Dance in the summer ceremonial season. By the 1860s this seems to be changing with Lower Brules offering their own Sun Dance near the Missouri (probably often with other Missouri-oriented Tetons), while the Upper Brule summer range extended ever further south and west beyond the Platte valley.

[kingsleybray]

great pics, again, Dietmar, including a few new to me. thanks.

With some attention to detail, it should be possible to follow the sequence of Lower Brule leaders you pulled together and match some with bands. Maybe after Christmas.

[Dietmar]

Thanks again Kingsley and looking forward to anything more.

It seems that Medicine Bull and his followers later made it to the Rosebud Reservation:

rosebudrez.com/community/bullcreek/history.html

Tatanka Wakpala/Bull Creek History

About twenty families came from Lower Brule led by Chief Medicine Bull. After being sent back to Lower Brule several time by the Rosebud Indian Police they were allowed to stay in 1896. They were the Paha Tanka Oyate who lived by the Buffalo Butte. In 1907 they were awarded allottments and incorporated into Rosebud Agency. Kills Omaha, Good Eagle, Hawk Track, Useful Heart, Long Crow, Black Smith, Tail Crows, Eagle Star, Collins, Fire Cloud, Red Leaf, Crooked Foot, Gould, Eagle Hawk, Red Water, Stinking Thigh, From Above, Pretty Voice, Grass Rope, White Lark, Lever, Big Misouri, Arrow, Wright, High Dog, Gassman, Jumping Up, and LaPointe. Many families lived at or near Dixon until the 1960s when they moved to new tribal housing. Later they moved to Gregory and elsewhere.

rosebudrez.com/community/bullcreek/cemeteries.html

Our Savior Episcopal Cemetery. Bull Creek Twp., Dixon, SD; SW1/4 NE1/4, 13-100-74. Located 16 miles north of Dallas, on the Bull Creek, it was originally part of the Lower Brule Mission, and later served by the Rev. W. Blair Roberts of the Rosebud Mission out of Dallas and Mission. Included among the graves is Chief Medicine Bull, whose history is recorded on the tombstone. (1963 Tripp County Atlas)

[kingsleybray]

Yes, Dietmar, through much of the 1880s and 90s a part of the Lower Brules were constantly appealing to be transferred to Rosebud. Medicine Bull was the main leader, reflecting what looks like a classic inter-band tension with Iron Nation.

A steady decline in Lower Brule population from c. 1200 in 1880, to 858 in 1898, reflects the drain of people to Rosebud.

The process was finally completed later in 1898, those Lower Brules transferring to Rosebud settling along Bull Creek (a minor western tributary of the Missouri a few miles south of White river), and at Paha tanka (Big Butte), a landmark along the creek. The 1899 enrollment at Lower Brule fell to 390.

[kingsleybray]

I have done some checking, and it looks as if the chief Dead Hand, in the photo's posted by Dietmar, is the same man as One Who Kills White Buffalo Cow, Lower Brule chief reported in the period 1865-1880.

He is listed as 73 years old in the Lower Brule census of 1886, so born about 1812 or 1813. According to his own statement in 1865 he was the grandson of Shawnee (aka Little Brave), a prominent Brule leader in the period 1820-39. The Sawalla (Shawnee) tiyoshpaye of the Lower Brule was named after this man.

[gregor]

A question:
Was "Little Pheasant" also known as "One To Play With"?
And do the above Pictures show the same man?
Just a thought. What do you think?
Toksha Gregor

[kingsleybray]

No, Little Pheasant and One To Play With were two different people.

[witkola]

All very interesting information. "Little Pheasant" is an especially interesting translation. It seems like "Prairie Chicken" would be the correct translation if the following is correct:
"It (pheasant) was introduced to South Dakota in 1898 and is easily recognized by its colorful plumage. It is also known for its delicious meat." -- www.ultimatepheasanthunting.com/info/pheasant-history/

[chicheman]

Shawala / Shawnee Band

Today I found some mention of the origin of the Shawala band by accident in "Shawnee !" by James Howard,
Ohio University Press (1981), page 25 :

The Teton Dakotas (Lakota)called them (the Shawnees) Shawala, a Name also applied to a division of their own
tribe supposedly descended from an adopted Shawnee chief. The Omahas, Poncas, Osages, Kansas and Quapaws all called
them Shawana.

Does anybody have more Details about the origin of this Brule Band perhaps ?

Best from Germany

chicheman