|
Post by ephriam on Sept 12, 2008 9:31:17 GMT -5
One more thought.
Red Bear and Looks Up appear to have surrendered together at the Spotted Tail Agency in the spring of 1877 (both of their names appear in the Spotted Tail Agency census for June 1877). I think Spotted Eagle was in Canada already by this time.
Presumably Red Bear and Looks Up slipped away from the agency and went to Canada together later that fall.
So if all three of these individuals are leaders within the same tiyospaye, does the 1880-81 surrenders and transfers suggest that there might have been a split in the band? Perhaps over the issue of surrendering?
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Sept 12, 2008 1:39:01 GMT -5
Kingsley:
I wonder about the leaders of the Bull Dung band of Sans Arc. You have listed three headmen: Spotted Eagle, Red Bear and Looks Up.
This is based on two pieces of evidence. Spotted Eagle and Red Bear are mentioned in the Sept. 1876 letter (which you recently shared) in which these two men are referred to as leaders of the Buffalo Bull Dung Band. You wondered whether this was a reference to the specific Sans Arc tiyospaye or perhaps a generic term intended to refer to the Sans Arc in general. The assignment of Looks Up to this band is based on a 1931 interview with Afraid of Enemy in the Mekeel field notes.
I should point out however that in 1880, Spotted Eagle and Red Bear surrendered together at Fort Keogh with a large number of Sans Arc. Meanwhile, Looks Up appears to have surrendered at Fort Buford with Circle Bear. I am working from the assumption that the various Lakota bands surrendered together as bands during the 1880-81 period. But here we have an instance where Looks Up is not with Spotted Eagle and Red Bear.
Second: Spotted Eagle and Red Bear were transferred with a group of Sans Arc to the Cheyenne River Agency late in the summer of 1881 while the other Sans Arc remained at Standing Rock, including Looks Up. In fact, he is the only one of these three leaders who appears in the Sitting Bull Surrender Census. Looks Up was later transferred to Cheyenne River with the remaining Sans Arc in the spring of 1882. Here is a second instance where these three leaders and their followers are not acting together.
Also, I learned recently from a contact at Cheyenne River who found a probate record for the family of Looks Up that he and his wife had three children, one of whom was Afraid of Enemy, the same man mentioned above who was interviewed in 1931. Interestingly, Afraid of Enemy stated that his father was Brule and that his mother was Sans Arc. This would suggest that Looks Up was born a Brule, married into the Sans Arc and lived with his wife's people where he gained sufficient influence to be named shirtwearer for his tiyospaye.
It is also interesting to note that Looks Up's father's father was a Brule and that his wife was a Sans Arc. This is only one instance within the Bull Dung band but perhaps they had closer alliances with the Brule as opposed to the Minneconjou and Hunkpapa alliances evident among the other Sans Arc tiyospaye.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Sept 6, 2008 17:22:56 GMT -5
Actually, the photograph of "Red Bear's Family" is mislabeled. Remember, we have already posted and discussed Howard's photograph of Red Bear's family, from the Cowan auction site. This new stereoview on Ebay should have been labeled "Spotted Tail's Family." This exact same image, properly labeled, is pasted in the diaries of John G. Bourke.
The unidentified stereoview of an Indian in front of a building was taken by Howard at Fort Bridger, sometime between 1875-77. The building is Judge Carter's post trader store located on the edge of the garrison. I suspect that the unidentified Indian wrapped in a blanket in the image is a Shoshone, probably of Washakie's band.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Sept 6, 2008 8:43:58 GMT -5
|
|
|
Low Dog
Aug 29, 2008 11:27:30 GMT -5
Post by ephriam on Aug 29, 2008 11:27:30 GMT -5
Regarding Red Bear, I can add a few more details to what Kingsley posted.
Red Bear (Mato Luta) was born about 1837 in what is today South Dakota. I have not been able to establish his relationship yet to any other Sans Arc families, but he was clearly a headman of some influence by the time of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, generally associated with the non-treaty factions such as Spotted Eagle.
I was very excited to see mention of his affiliation with the Buffalo Bull Dung band. I did not know that. Kingsley, may I ask your source?
Horned Horse reported that he was one of the leaders of the Sans Arc at the Little Bighorn; presumably also participated in other battles during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. As already noted, he surrendered at the Spotted Tail Agency in April 1877. He enlisted in Lieut. W. Philo Clark's Indian Scouts, serving as a sergeant in Company E (the company led by Touch the Clouds that included a mixture of "northern" Indians from Spotted Tail and some Brule to "leaven" the mix). He was a delegate to Washington, D.C. and as noted, helped organize the flight north to Canada that winter.
Red Bear probably returned from Canada and surrendered with Spotted Eagle at Fort Keogh in October 1880. These Sans Arc were transferred to Fort Yates and the Standing Rock Agency in June 1881. Unfortunately, Spotted Eagle's people were transferred a few months later to the Cheyenne River Agency, before the Sitting Bull Surrender Census was compiled, so they are not included in that record. However, the name Red Bear does appear in the list of new arrivals with Spotted Eagle at Cheyenne River in 1881.
There is a gap in the census records for Cheyenne River from 1881 to 1886, but Red Bear appears in the census from 1886 through 1910. He was married at least three times (perhaps as many as 6 times according to one census). His last wife was named Her Black Horse, whom he married about 1893. Red Bear lived the remainder of his life at Cheyenne River. He died at Cherry Creek on May 13, 1911.
His widow later filed for a pension based on Red Bear's service as an Indian scout. I have been trying to get a copy but it was not at the National Archives; must still be with Army records in St. Louis.
Finally, I should mention that this Red Bear should not be confused with another Little Bighorn veteran by the same name who was later convicted of his role in the Metis Rebellion in Canada and died in prison about 1887. There was also a Northern Cheyenne named Red Bear who lived among the Oglala, particularly associated with No Water's band. In later years, his descendants considered themselves to be Oglala. (For another example of this "Lakota-ization" of Cheyenne families, see Joe Starita's book, The Dull Knifes of Pine Ridge).
Maybe we can track down some descendants of the Red Bear family who could fill in some more details! Hope this helps.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Aug 3, 2008 8:18:13 GMT -5
FLYING BY Kinyan Hiyaye (c1810?-c1885). Minneconjou. Headman.
White Bull identified Flying By as one of the six traditional headmen of the Minneconjou. He was an active leader by the 1860s, including the Wagon Box fight. He appears to have been related to Lame Deer in some way. Kingsley Bray suspects that he was leader of the Wagleza-oin or Watersnake Earring band of Minneconjou.
Red Feather recalled that Flying By participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. "An old man, Flying By, who wore a shirt and had his hair tied behind his head, kept shouting, which encouraged the young men. He was the only old man in front with the young ones."
The elder Flying By was among the Minneconjou who joined Sitting Bull in Canada. He surrendered with his band in 1880-81 and was probably transferred to the Standing Rock Agency in the summer of 1881. He cannot be identified by name in the Sitting Bull Surrender Census, but he may be the elderly man named Crane (born circa. 1810) who was living in the lodge of Lame Deer's son, Fool Heart.
White Bull noted that Flying By did not have children to whom his leadership role could be passed. He appears to have given his name to Lame Deer's younger son, later known as George Flying By (hence the assumption that the Flying By and Lame Deer families are related in some way). Flying By died, according to White Bull's wintercount, in late 1885 or early 1886.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jul 30, 2008 9:13:37 GMT -5
Kingsley:
What is your reference for the divorse of Makes Room and Pretty Feather? I had suspected as much but have not been able to find confirmation.
In the Sitting Bull Surrender Census, Pretty Feather is listed in Sitting Bull's band with her daughter Four Woman (later known as Mary Welsh) and son Killed While Standing. One Bull and his wife and daughter are also listed in this band. Interestingly, when asked by the census taker, she lists herself as a widow. Since Makes Room was still living, this reference has been bothering me.
Perhaps after the divorse, Pretty Feather remarried and it is this second husband that had died by 1881 when the census was conducted. Thanks!
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jul 27, 2008 15:30:56 GMT -5
The various Lakota tiyospaye that we have been talking about can best be thought of as communities, groups of people who come together to share resources and provide mutual support. Just as we see in our own communities today, people are constantly coming and going, for all kinds of reasons. It is a matter of personal choice. But each of these communities still have a distinct history -- a beginning, a period in which they flourish, and then a decline. It is a cycle of life, just like an individual person.
Describing which band/community a particular individual belonged to can be problematic. I grew up in northern Wyoming and later northwestern Nebraska. As an adult, however, I have lived in a wide range of places -- England, Mississippi, California, Arkansas, Texas and now Utah. So what do I consider myself? A Nebraskan because that is where I grew up? A Texan, because that is where I lived the longest (13 years)? A Utahn because that is where I live now? If I was asked for my affiliation by geography, I might have a little difficulty answering it simply. The truth is -- whatever I choose to be recognized as.
Similiarly, in the 19th century, a Lakota individual could spend his or her entire life in one band (tiyospaye) or he/she may live in a number of different bands over time, for a variety of reasons. For Lakota, each of these bands/communities were viewed as part of an extended family, upon whom you could look for support. And they depended upon you as well.
And once you made that choice, there were a number of physical ways in which you publicly demonstrated your choice. When the bands came together and set up a formal camp circle, each band had a specific place within the sacred circle. You had to choose. Where were you going to set up your lodge? With whom would you affiliate your family? Once you did so, the people of that community looked to you for support. (Just like you may pay taxes in the community in which you live, Lakota traditions had expectations that each family contributed to the whole of the community, above personal ambitions and desires.)
So I must respectfully disagree with one of the earlier posts who thought that we might be overemphasizing the issue of bands, and an individual's affiliation with them. I would argue that we are not recognizing them enough. Decisions were not made at the tribal level, but at the community level and by individuals. I think we are only just beginning to see Lakota history from the perspective of the people who actually experienced it. I believe the only way we are going to get that level of understanding will be to delve deeply into these bands/communities.
I am particurly fascinated with the late 19th century Lakota history, from the period of the Treaty of 1868 through the early reservation era. The deep political divisions or polarization that developed after the Treaty of 1868 continued to haunt Lakota politics for the next generation. Some communities chose to remain out to pursue the traditional life for as long as possible; other communities made the decision to come in to the reservation, as painful as that was. Even after the Sioux War of 1876-77 forced nearly everone on to the reservations, this deep divide remained. In fact, I suspect if we examine the Ghost Dance era closely, we will find that those who embraced the new religion and those who did not will closely parallel the same divisions, the same communities, as we seen struggling during the Sioux War of 1876-77.
So I think the best answer for an individual is to see where they chose to reside. Crazy Horse was not a Minneconjou (despite the new plaque at the LBH that records him as such). While he had Minneconjou relatives and could choose to live with them (and he did for short periods), he clearly viewed himself as an Oglala. He lived with the Hunkpatila tiyospaye of the Oglala, engaged in their politics, provided food for that camp circle. That is clearly the community in which he fully engaged.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jul 27, 2008 14:52:44 GMT -5
Frank:
The photograph you posted is of George Flying By Kinyan Hiyaye (c1851-1930). He was a Minneconjou, though he lived his later years on the Standing Rock Reservation. He is a younger son of the noted Minneconjou leader Lame Deer and a brother of Fool Heart. He was at the Little Bighorn, as was his entire family. He was interviewed twice by Walter Camp about his experience.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jul 13, 2008 8:56:32 GMT -5
Tatanka:
I am not certain that it is accurate to say that Lame Deer "joined" Crazy Horse. Throughout the Sioux War period, various bands linked up together for a time, but soon scattered again to hunt, as traditionally done. During the winter of 1876-77, Lame Deer and other Minneconjou did combine villages with Crazy Horse for brief periods, but always maintained their own autonomy.
By early spring 1877, Lame Deer, Black Moon, and other Minneconjou non-agency bands had seperated from the Oglala. Their camp circle included several agency bands, including that of Touch the Clouds, who had slipped away from the Cheyenne River Agency the previous fall just prior to the Army taking their horses. The Brule chief Spotted Tail visited this large village in an attempt to persuade them to come to his agency to surrender. The majority of this village decided to go in; Lame Deer however chose to remain out.
The size of Lame Deer's village at the time of Miles' attack is estimated at various numbers. Lame Deer's son, George Flying By (c1851-1930), later told Walter Camp that their village included Lame Deer and twenty lodges. White Bull reported 38 lodges; Miles reported 61 lodges.
In terms of the Cheyenne with Lame Deer, Jerome Greene (in his book Yellowstone Command which gives an excellent account of the Battle at Muddy Creek) mentions that Lame Deer had been joined by 15 lodges "of dissident Cheyennes under a minor chief named White Hawk" (p. 201). George Flying By did not describe a band of Cheyenne with his father; rather he told Camp that "There was one Cheyenne tepee belonging to White Hawk." Jerome Greene adds (on p. 206): "Unknown to Miles, about a mile above the Sioux encampment stood one of Cheyennes, containing fifteen tipis. These Indians quickly departed the area when the shooting erupted and apparently played no role in the fighting."
There is also some debate on who actually scalped Lame Deer. Private Anthony Gavin told Walter Camp that it was scout Robert Jackson -- not White Bull -- who scalped the Minneconjou chief. When Flying By and family returned to the battlefield to recover the body of Lame Deer, they found that he had actually been decapitated and his head was never found.
Lame Deer's band, under the leadership of his son Fool Heart, surrendered at the Spotted Tail Agency in September 1877, then fled to Canada that winter. They surrendered in 1880 and were transferred to the Standing Rock Agency in 1881. When counted in the Sitting Bull Surrender Census, they numbered 26 families or 112 people. In the spring of 1882, most of the Minneconjou and Sans Arc were transferred back to Cheyenne River Agency, however, half of Fool Heart's band remained at Standing Rock under George Flying By. According to Hardorff (I have not been able to verify it yet), Fool Heart died in 1882, which might account for why the band split, with half going to Cheyenne River and half remaining at Standing Rock. During the Ghost Dance troubles of 1890-91, some of Flying By's band left Standing Rock to join relatives at Cheyenne River (including Lame Deer's daughter, the wife of First Eagle.)
Hope this helps.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jul 8, 2008 0:45:55 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jul 7, 2008 20:18:25 GMT -5
There were two Flying By (Flying Bye) families at the Standing Rock Agency, but they are not related.
The first family was that of Nathan Flying By (born circa. 1876) who grew up among the Yanktonai. He had three sons as mentioned above, including the noted holy man Joseph Flying Bye (1921-2000).
The second family was that of George Flying By (born circa. 1851-52), also known as Struck or Struck Plenty. He was the son of the noted Minneconjou leader Lame Deer and later a headman of a small band of Minneconjou who remained at Standing Rock.
Following the killing of Lame Deer in May 1877, the remnants of his band under his son, Crazy Heart or Foolish Heart, surrendered at the Spotted Tail Agency in northwest Nebraska in the fall of 1877, at about the time that Crazy Horse was killed. Most of these Minneconjou fled north to Canada later that winter. Fool Heart's band finally returned to the U.S. and surrendered at Fort Buford in 1880-81. And in the summer of 1881, they were transferred to the Standing Rock Agency with all the other northern bands surrendering from Canada.
In the spring of 1882, most of the Minneconjou and Sans Arc were transferred to the Cheyenne River Agency. Fool Heart's band however split. Half of the band went to Cheyenne River, while the remainder stayed at Standing Rock under Struck/Flying By's leadership. Beginning with the 1892 census, his name is recorded as George Flying By. While this band is generally listed in the Standing Rock census records as Hunkpapa, whenever he is directly asked, George Flying By states that he is Minneconjou.
George Flying By was interviewed by Walter Camp about his experience at the Little Bighorn (published in Hammer, Custer in '76).
The photographs by D. F. Barry posted above are of George Flying By, taken about 1885. I am guessing that the woman in the photograph is his wife, Hail Heart, and the boy is his son, First To Kill (later known as Victor Flying By). There is another photograph by Fiske in Donovin Sprague's book, The Standing Rock Sioux, p. 46.
Hope this is of help in clarifying the two families.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jul 7, 2008 19:45:12 GMT -5
Gordie:
As noted above, Red Tomahawk was a member of Wolf Necklace's band of Upper Yanktonais.
He was not at the Little Bighorn; rather, he was at the Standing Rock Agency in the summer of 1876. He recalled being at the Black Hills treaty negotations at Standing Rock after the Little Bighorn. "Those of us that were present at that council will recall that we were in the midst of exceitment or confusion, you might call it, at that time," he later recalled. "It wasn't the Custer battle that had any effect, but what really had effect was about the proposition that the Great Father will take the Indians to the south [Indian Territory; later Oklahoma], and the chiefs wished to retain this place [Standing Rock] as a permanent place for their home."
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jul 3, 2008 8:07:02 GMT -5
Flying Bye, Joseph (1921-2000). Also known as Kangi Hotanka Crow with a Loud Voice.
Joseph Flying Bye was born on the Standing Rock Reservation on June 5, 1921, the son of Nathan and Eloise (Grindstone) Flying Bye. Joseph had an older brother (Moses (b. Jan. 16, 1914-d. Dec. 1973) and a younger brother, Calvin (b. May 12, 1924-d. June 24, 2001). The family also had several other children who did not survive into adulthood.
Joseph appears to have overreported his age so that he could enlist in the army (later records record his date of birth as June 5, 1917). He served in the Army during World War II. He returned home in March 1945 after being wounded in the right leg.
ephriam
|
|
|
Post by ephriam on Jun 29, 2008 12:17:30 GMT -5
Oops. I just noticed that Red Tomahawk's father, Iron Tail, also appears in the 1886 census in Red Tomahawk's family, listed as his father. He disappears by the 1887 census.
|
|