Post by ephriam on Nov 13, 2008 10:11:21 GMT -5
Yellow Bear Mato Gi (c1844-1913). Oglala: Shkokpaya Band.
The first Yellow Bear was a prominent headman among the Tapisleca Tiyospaye (translated as the Spleen or Melt Band), one of the major divisions of the southern Oglala. In 1871, Colonel John E. Smith rated the size of this leader's village at about 40 lodges, one of the larger family groups within the Tapisleca. Yellow Bear was murdered in 1872 near Fort Laramie during a fight with John Richard Jr. By 1874, most of the Tapisleca had settled at the Red Cloud Agency in northwestern Nebraska. The leadership of Yellow Bear's community appears to have been taken over by his brother, Black Hawk. The next largest village of Tapisleca at this time was led by Face.
Also recorded in this 1874 ration list for the Tapisleca is a second Oglala named Yellow Bear, rated with just two lodges. Born about 1844 or 1845, this Yellow Bear may have been a "brother" (in the widest Lakota sense) of the original Tapisleca leader. He was one of several younger Oglala leaders who achieved prominence during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. He enlisted as a scout in General Crook's Indian Scouts in the fall of 1876 and participated in the Powder River Expedition. By February 1877, Yellow Bear is listed in the agency census as the head of the Tapisleca band and he was promoted to sergeant in Company B, Indian Scouts, indications of his growing influence. In the fall of 1877, he was selected as one of the Oglala delegates sent to Washington, D.C. to meet with the President. "I want to know now which is the best way we can live for a long time," he told President Hayes. "I have a band of my own and I have come down to work for them."
As the Oglala settled on the Pine Ridge Agency after 1878, the family bands within the Tapisleca established various communities. Yellow Bear's community, known as the Shkokpaya, settled to the northwest of Allen, South Dakota, within what later became known as the Pass Creek District of the reservation. The 1890 Pine Ridge census provides our best detailed glimpse of the Shkokpaya, listing 22 families or 99 people. Among the band members was Imitates Dog (Sunka Onca), a brother of Yellow Bear. Sisters of Yellow Bear's wife married Yellow Hawk and Little Crow, both also members of the Shkokpaya. Another prominent member of the Shkokpaya was Pawnee Killer, though his relationship to Yellow Bear is not known.
Yellow Bear continued to serve as a prominent Oglala leader, again traveling to Washington, D.C. in 1888. He died September 1, 1913.
ephriam
The first Yellow Bear was a prominent headman among the Tapisleca Tiyospaye (translated as the Spleen or Melt Band), one of the major divisions of the southern Oglala. In 1871, Colonel John E. Smith rated the size of this leader's village at about 40 lodges, one of the larger family groups within the Tapisleca. Yellow Bear was murdered in 1872 near Fort Laramie during a fight with John Richard Jr. By 1874, most of the Tapisleca had settled at the Red Cloud Agency in northwestern Nebraska. The leadership of Yellow Bear's community appears to have been taken over by his brother, Black Hawk. The next largest village of Tapisleca at this time was led by Face.
Also recorded in this 1874 ration list for the Tapisleca is a second Oglala named Yellow Bear, rated with just two lodges. Born about 1844 or 1845, this Yellow Bear may have been a "brother" (in the widest Lakota sense) of the original Tapisleca leader. He was one of several younger Oglala leaders who achieved prominence during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. He enlisted as a scout in General Crook's Indian Scouts in the fall of 1876 and participated in the Powder River Expedition. By February 1877, Yellow Bear is listed in the agency census as the head of the Tapisleca band and he was promoted to sergeant in Company B, Indian Scouts, indications of his growing influence. In the fall of 1877, he was selected as one of the Oglala delegates sent to Washington, D.C. to meet with the President. "I want to know now which is the best way we can live for a long time," he told President Hayes. "I have a band of my own and I have come down to work for them."
As the Oglala settled on the Pine Ridge Agency after 1878, the family bands within the Tapisleca established various communities. Yellow Bear's community, known as the Shkokpaya, settled to the northwest of Allen, South Dakota, within what later became known as the Pass Creek District of the reservation. The 1890 Pine Ridge census provides our best detailed glimpse of the Shkokpaya, listing 22 families or 99 people. Among the band members was Imitates Dog (Sunka Onca), a brother of Yellow Bear. Sisters of Yellow Bear's wife married Yellow Hawk and Little Crow, both also members of the Shkokpaya. Another prominent member of the Shkokpaya was Pawnee Killer, though his relationship to Yellow Bear is not known.
Yellow Bear continued to serve as a prominent Oglala leader, again traveling to Washington, D.C. in 1888. He died September 1, 1913.
ephriam