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Post by clarkkimberling on Jul 25, 2010 14:20:19 GMT -5
Robert P. Higheagle (RPH) was an interpreter for Frances Densmore, Walter Stanley Campbell, and others. I am interested in RPH's "place" and hope readers can supplement the following information and correct mistakes. Name: Robert Placidus Higheagle Born: 1873(?) in Sitting Bull's Camp, SD Died: Sept. 21, 1938, at Fort Yates, ND. He was a resident of Little Eagle, SD, at that time. Father: Martin High Eagle (Huncpapa) Mother: Mary Leader (Minneconjous) Wife: Louisa (1876? - 193?) In the accounts I've seen of Sitting Bull's death, one of the special policemen was High Eagle. Was he RPH's father? High Eagle, Chief of the Great Council Lodge, was killed in the Reno fight, June 25, 1876, at Little Big Horn. Was this RPH's grandfather? RPH wrote that "Magpie Eagle and Lone Man are brothers," and possibly RPH was a nephew of Lone Man [John Loneman (1850? -1924?)]. At www.primeau.org/1888/index.html, Chief High Eagle is included in a group picture of U. S. Commissioners and Delegations of Sioux Chiefs Visiting Washington October 15, 1888. He is #31 - here is a closeup: www.primeau.org/1888/31.pngIs this a picture of RPH's father? High Eagle is listed as a chief in the 1885 list - www.primeau.org/StandingRock1885families.htmlWas this RPH's father? Regarding the 1885 list, are the chiefs the ones RPH called "Ration Chiefs"? Here's what he wrote: Bull Head (the father of the one who killed SB [Sitting Bull]) was a ration chief... These ration chiefs were appointed by McLaughlin. Perhaps he would confer with the members of the band before appointing them. In RPH's letters in the Campbell Collection, he signed his surname as Higheagle. However, others have written his surname as High Eagle (e.g., "Lakota and Euroamericans: Contrasted Concepts of 'Chieftainship' and Decision-Making Authority," by Catherine Price, Ethnohistory, vol. 41 no. 3 (Summer, 1994) 447-463). Finally, I've come across a couple of indications that, later in life, Robert P. Higheagle was a judge. Can somone give some details? Clark
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jul 23, 2010 10:50:17 GMT -5
In this message, I'll quote from Densmore's Teton Sioux Music certain indications that the man named Two Shields whom she recorded was Adam Two Shields. Then I'll tell about George Herzog's singer named Two Shields. The two accounts will lead to a puzzle: was Herzog's singer Adam Two Shields, or Antoine Two Shields, or someone else? Densmore recorded at Standing Rock during 1911 to 1914. During those years, according to the certificates mentioned in Reply 11, Adam Two Shields was past 74 years old, and Antoine was not yet 41. In Reply 2, Ephriam wrote: Unfortunately, Francis Densmore did not give any biographical information about Two Shields except that he was "a close adherent of the old beliefs, the missionaries having made no impression of him." The 1909 portrait of him published in Densmore (1918) and in Fiske (1917) shows an older man. Those are two pointers from Densmore (page 207 and plate 47) toward Two Shields as an old man. Here's another, from page 293: Two Shields was one of the singers and drummers in [the Elk] society, the last meeting of which was held about 30 years ago [about 1882]. He sang the following song, which was used in this society, and which he said had been handed down for many generations... Finally, in Densmore's The American Indians and Their Music, The Woman's Press, 1936, page 87: The Sioux said their nearest approach to love songs consisted of a very few concerning a man's qualification to support a wife--whether he had enough ponies or had been successful on the warpath. Such a song was recorded by Two Shields, one of the most reliable old singers on the Standing Rock reservation in North and South Dakota. Those five references to Densmore indicate that her singer was an old man. There are two lesser indicators. One is that Densmore's Two Shields seems to have been a close acquaintance of the singer Siyaka, who was about 80 years old in 1913. The second is Two Shields's closeness to the elusive White Shield. (There are an Uncpapa White Shield and an Upper Yanktonai White Shield in the 1885 list at www.primeau.org/StandingRock1885families.html ; I would very much like to know more about this singer, who exerted a considerable influence on Adam Two Shields.) In the summer of 1928, George Herzog made nearly 200 recordings of songs at Standing Rock. One of his singers was named Two Shields. Herzog's work is described in "We Come to You as the Dead": Ethnomusicology, Colonialism, and the Standing Rock Reservation, 1868-1934," by Erik Gooding, Resound (A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music), January/April 1997. Although Herzog did not prepare his recordings and notes for publication, they are archived in the Indiana University Archives of Traditional Music (ATM), collection 54-110-F. Herzog's songs numbered 8-24 were sung by "Two Shields, about 60 y., Yanktonai, Fort Yates." Nine of them are labeled "Song of the Dog-society" and five, "Song for the Buffalo dance." The latter include no. 21, which is essentially "His Horses He Granted Me" in Densmore's Teton Sioux Music, sung for her by Adam Two Shields. No. 23 is labeled "Vision-song of White Shield". "This song was given by White-Shield to Two-Shields." Unfortunately, Herzog did not give any biographical information about Two Shields except that he was "about 60 y." and two other bits of writing in a small notebook. From page 30: "Two Shields heard these two songs when he was about 60 years old, does not know how old they are." From page 85: "2-Shields may be a Cut-Head (Pxa-baksa). His mother is Santee." When Herzog recorded, Antoine was about 54 and Adam was about 90. Herzog wrote that Two Shields was about 60 y. but also that "when [Two Shields] was about 60..." - suggesting that Two Shields was already past 60. Does anyone have any further ideas for identifying the man named Two Shields who sang for Herzog? Again, thank you to those who have helped get this far! Clark
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jul 22, 2010 19:15:24 GMT -5
Since starting Two Shields thread, I have received a number of helpful replies, some privately. Among them were death certificates for both Adam Two Shields and Antoine Two Shields. According to the certificate for Antoine, he was a policeman who died on January 10, 1933, at Standing Rock Hospital in Fort Yates, and his father's name was John Mail. The father's birthplace and mother's name are marked "Not Known." The informant was Alvin Warrior of Cannon Ball.
Antoine was the informant for Adam's certificate, which states that he died on April 28, 1931 at the age of 94 years, 3 months, and 27 days (!), and that he and his parents, Bear Man and Sapawin (listed for maiden name), were born in Montana.
Regarding Yost's reference to Two Shields as "head of the tribe" who "invited us to a big dance and reception...at his place," this perhaps refers to Adam Two Shields's camp, which is mentioned in a steno notebook, one of two with title "Fiske notes", at the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Specifically, in connection with Picture 1952-114 of Alice Two Shields, these words appear: "Two Two Shields families. One lived at Cannonball and one at Two Shield's camp."
Early in my research there was some suggestion that the man named Two Shields who sang for the ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore was Antoine, rather than Adam. This may have resulted from someone's recollection that Antoine was a singer. It appears possible that Antoine sang for an ethnomusicologist named George Herzog in 1928.
Tomorrow I'll post another message. It will conclude that Densmore's singer was Adam Two Shields and leave open the question of the identity of Herzog's singer.
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jul 20, 2010 9:14:49 GMT -5
In a letter to Walter Stanley Campbell dated September 28, 1929, Robert P. Higheagle, a Lakota Indian born in Sitting Bull's camp, having been paid to interview several "old timers out on their respective reservations," wrote the following sentence: "There are other very interesting Native American stories, legends and myths among the Indians which should be preserved." Is there something in there that catches your eye? Try this: before the mid 1960s, "Native American" usually meant "originating in America". For example, here are the titles of some books which have nothing to do with Indians: Native American Anarchism, by Eunice Minette Schuster, 1932, reprinted in 1970 A Native American, by William Saroyan, 1938 Native American: the Book of My Youth, by Ray Stannard Baker, 1941 Native American Humor, by Walter Blair, 1960 Native American Balladry, by G. Malcolm Laws, 1964. Although the prevailing meaning of "Native American" before 1965 was not about Indians, there was one definite exception: the Native American Church, a name adopted in 1918 by a group of Oto, Iowa, and Arapaho tribal representatives meeting in Cheyenne, Oklahoma. This new name for their peyote-based cult was chosen to emphasize intertribal solidarity. For details and references, click en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_name_controversyand scroll down to the section headed "History". Although that Wikipedia article devotes several pages to the term "Native American", it does not satisfactorily address certain questions. I hope that contributors to American-Tribes will offer some answers. Question 1.What are some examples of early usages of "Native American" to mean American Indian? A surprisingly meagre answer from the Oxford English Dictionary, in the article on "Native", note 15, includes an earliest "known" usage, in the words "Native American churchmen" - from a letter written by Aldous Huxley in 1956. Then in 1973 and 1974, the Black Panther and New Society magazines ran relevant articles. One of these refers to the Native American Church and the others do not. Surely, there were other early appearances of "Native American" that had a greater impact on American society as a whole than those did! A related question is this: did the term "Native American" extend historically from the name of the Church (which became incorporated in 1950 as the Native American Church of North America), or was it an independent development? Question 2.Both of the terms "Native American" and "American Indian" are common today. Just think how many hours have been spent by committees, libraries, and editors trying to determine which term to use in various kinds of books and media productions. Are there any available summaries of their research and polling - especially from influential forces such as NBC, ABC, CBS, state governments, and the federal government? Regarding the latter, for example, what deliberations led to the naming of the museum: www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=visitor As another kind of example, many publishers and media forces, at various times, switched from "Indian" to "Native American". Question 2 asks for documentation of these switches in high places, including switchbacks from "Native American to "Indian". Question 3.It is said that Indians prefer to be called that, rather than Native Americans. Are there exceptions? Have there been tribes that have taken a published position on this, one way or the other? In 1929, when Higheagle was writing in a Lakota environment, was the term "Native American" in use? Question 4.Something happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The relatively sudden sweeping into the English language of the term "Native American" must have been driven by some powerful forces. There must have been some very influential authors, editors, and media personnel. Who were they? Now, returning to Higheagle's sentence using the term Native American in reference to Indians - way back in 1929. Did the term already have its Indian meaning - aside from the name Native American Church? That brings us back to Question 1 about early usages of "Native American" to mean American Indian, other than the Native American Church. In particular, is Higheagle's the earliest recorded usage?
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jun 30, 2010 16:03:04 GMT -5
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jun 23, 2010 11:45:08 GMT -5
In a 1945 article entitled "The Importance of Recordings of Indian Songs," Frances Densmore wrote this: "It is said that Two Shields, one of my Sioux singers, has been heard a distance of a mile. The sound of his voice was not unpleasantly loud when recording songs but he knew how to project his voice when singing on the open prairie." The voice of Two Shields has projected its way into the title of a book: SING WITH THE HEART OF A BEAR: Fusions of Native and American Poetry, 1890-1999, by Kenneth Lincoln, University of California Press, 2000. The words "Sing with the heart of a bear" come from Song 93 in Densmore's Teton Sioux Music. I'll quote the English translation and some of what Densmore has written. Then I'll raise some questions. Song 93. "A Wind from the North", sung by Two Shields
my heart is different [see footnote, p. 120] behold me my heart is different I have shown it from the north a wind comes to get me
Densmore introduces this song as "commonly used by medicine-men of the tribe." After showing the song (six staves of melody with Lakota text), Densmore continues: In this song we meet a strange phase of the life of a medicine-man. Two Shields, who recorded the song, said that "White Shield used to sing this song when he was worried or disappointed." Strangely human is this little melody. Two Shields said also that when singing the song he would mention the direction on which the wind was blowing that day, as "every man who performs ceremonies respects the various winds." In the second line of the song, you see a reference to a footnote on page 120. This is because the meaning of "My heart is different" is an instance of "sacred language," which is described on page 120. There, Densmore writes that " 'My heart is different' means 'with a heart that is different,' but carrying the idea of the fierceness of a bear." "Sing with the Heart of a Bear" serves as a theme throughout Lincoln's book, beginning on page 4, with a mention of Lakota sacred language and Two Shield's Song 93, and recalled like dashes of spice on later pages. Question 1. Can someone elaborate on the meaning of the key phrase: cante' mato'kecaca (I'll not attempt to type the special marks on the letters; is "bear" there?) Question 2. Does "Sing with the heart of a bear" have a recognized meaning among modern Lakota singers and/or writers? Question 3. The reference to White Shield suggests that he was a medicine man. Two Shields learned several songs from White Shield. Is White Shield mentioned anywhere besides Densmore's Teton Sioux Music, where he indexed as "composer of songs"? Among men named White Shield in census records, which one was the medicine man who taught songs to Two Shields? Clark
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jun 21, 2010 14:25:37 GMT -5
Thank you, Louie. Is there some chance that your Hidatsa Place Names can be published - or, at least, a copy could be given to the State Historical Society of North Dakota?
I have taken a first step toward having "Two Shields Butte" added to the Geographic Names Information System mentioned in Reply 4. A requirement is that "for natural features, a person or persons being comemorated by having a natural feature named for them must have been deceased for at least five years." The date of Hidatsa Place Names establishes that Two Shields Butte is named for a person who died more than 15 years ago - probably much more.
There are at least two historic Two Shields, and one wonders: were they the same man, and was it the man for whom the butte is named?
Two Shields #1: searching Google for "Vigilantes in North Dakota" finds an 1884 account in which "a Hidatsa Indian, called Two Shields, was captured..."
Two Shields #2: in Alfred W. Bowers, Hidatsa Social and Ceremonial Organization, pages 141-2, there is an eight-paragraph description of Two Shields. The last sentence: "More than twenty years later, after the people were put on the Reservation, Two Shields, while mowing hay, was cut on the foot and bled to death. (Two Shields is also mentioned on pages 444, 456, and 459 in connection with his participation in ceremonies and his membership in the Black Mouth society.)
It seems to me that Two Shields #2 was the man for whom Two Shields Butte is named, and I'd guess that he was also #1.
Has anyone encountered anything else about Hidatsa men named Two Shields?
Clark
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jun 17, 2010 17:00:52 GMT -5
Ancestry.com shows several pages of Indian census records, 1885-1930, for the surnames Two Shields and Twoshields. It appears that all Two Shields families trace back to Adam Two Shields and his wife White Dog Two Shields. Adam is the "old man" mentioned in Reply #2 and, it appears, he was Densmore's singer. There was another singer named Two Shields who was recorded by George Herzog at Standing Rock in 1928. I do not know yet if Herzog's singer was Antoine Two Shields. Now I would like to mention TWO SHIELDS BUTTE, on the Fort Berthold Reservation, Dunn County, ND. According to one account, this is a "flat topped butte with an acre or more of hay land on top, east of Mandaree ND by Saint Anthony's Catholic Church. Two Shields is buried on top, he was killed when he fell under a hay mower when the horses ran off." It seems certain that this Two Shields was Hidatsa, although the census records at Ancestry.com show no "Two Shields" for any ND county except Sioux. The name Two Shields Butte is not on the Geographic Names Information System - geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/index.html - but it is the site of recent shale-oil drilling. You can see one of the rigs at buffalopost.net?cat=748 A search for "Two Shields Butte" at itouchmap.com/latlong.htmlfinds this location: 47.551493, -101.002012 . Searching the same site for Saint Anthony's Church, Mandaree, ND, finds 47.732511, -102.598522 . One of (at least 6) of the Kodiak Gas & Oil sites is located at T149N-R93W, which converts to 22.966 acres centered at 47.71739, -102.5785. Conversion like this from township to latitude-longitude is easy at www.earthpoint.us/Townships.aspx Prior to these computations, it was thought that there were two different places called Two Shields Butte.
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jun 11, 2010 8:20:27 GMT -5
Thank you, LaDonna and Ephriam.
Two Shields recorded songs demonstrated by White Shield. Can someone tell more about White Shield than Densmore has told?
Possibly White Shield and Two Shields were described in "Brief Biographies of Noted Sioux Indians," by Frank B. Zahn. Where can a copy be found?
Clark
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jun 8, 2010 10:09:22 GMT -5
Thanks, Emily, for calling to our attention the singer Siyaka. I would like to add a few remarks about Frances Densmore's high regard for Siyaka. Of the many singers Densmore interviewed for Teton Sioux Music, it was Siyaka's portrait that she chose to face the title page. Densmore recorded 29 songs sung by Siyaka. The second highest number for a singer was 20 songs, sung by Two Shields. In "The Study of Indian Music," Densmore wrote: "I remember with queer affection an office at Fort Yates, NJ. Dak., that had been part of the kitchen of the old fort" ... Among the Sioux who recorded song in this office was Siyaka . . . a particularly fine man..." For a picture of Densmore's office, visit www.makochevision.com/densmore.htmlIn Teton Sioux Music, before and after "Where the Wind is Blowing" as sung by Siyaka, Densmore quotes him (translated): "The owl said, "Always look toward the west when you make a petition, and you will have a long life." After this the owl commanded me to look at him. As soon as I did this he was changed to an elk, and at his feet were the elk medicine and a hoop. As soon as I saw him changing, I began to wonder what marvel would be next. Then I heard a song. I tried to learn the song, and before I realized what I was doing I was singing the song. The following is the song taught me by the elk in my dream." After the appearance of the song [4 staves of music, Lakota text, English translation, and musical analysis], Siyaka continues: "The hilltop where I had my dream was quite a distance from the camp. My friends knew I had gone there, and in the early morning they sent a man with my horse. I came home... After this dream, my stronghold was in the east, but the west was also a source from which I could get help. All the bird and insects which I had seen in my dream were things on which I knew I should keep my mind and learn their ways. When the season returns, the birds and insects return with the same coloring as the previous year. They are not all on the earth, but are ABOVE it. My mind must be the same. The elk is brave, always helping the women, and in that way the elk has saved a large proportion of his tribe. In this, I should follow the elk, remembering that the elk, the birds, and the insects are my helpers. I never killed an elk nor ate its flesh. The birds that continually fly in the air I would not kill. I may kill water birds and grass birds if suitable for food, but only these." Then comes Densmore's remarkable conclusion: Siyaka was deeply affected by telling of this dream and the singing of the songs. Shaking hands with the writer, he said that he had given her his most cherished possession. A footnote tells us that Siyaka's narrative was given in November, 1912; he died in March, 1913.
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Post by clarkkimberling on Jun 6, 2010 14:37:20 GMT -5
Can someone help me find information about Two Shields? First, there was Two Shields the singer in Densmore's Teton Sioux Music. If this was Antoine Two Shields, then he was born in 1873 or 1874, son of [Adam?] Two Shields and White Dog Two Shields (both born about 1839). (Adam Two Shields died 4-28-1931, reportedly at the age of 94; his wife died 12-?-1931, aged 77. I would like to learn the date and place of Antoine's death.) Second, there was Two Shields described in Nellie Snyder Yost's book A Man as Big as the West: "At Fort Yates [about 1930?] we associated with the Hunkpapa branch of the Sioux, old Sitting Bull's own group. Two Shields was head of the tribe when we were there... [later, same page]...After we had eaten, old Two Shields invited us to a big dance and reception he was giving for us out at his place...[next page] ..."led by such chiefs as Two Shields, Gall, John Grass,..." Was this [Adam]? Was he a chief? (I've used [ ] because in records prior to his old age, no first name appears.) Third, there was Two Shields the Indian policeman, whose portrait can be viewed at digitalhorizonsonline.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/uw-ndshs&CISOPTR=332&CISOBOX=1&REC=2 The policeman also appears in a group photo at nearby URL. Was the policeman Antoine? Thanks!
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