Low Dog

[Dietmar]

Unfortunately I have no better version of that photo. And there are only a handful Indian portraits in the book I have about F. Jay Haynes... without this session of 1881.

There must be many more Haynes photographs. Most of them are in the F. Jay Haynes Photographic Studio Collections in the Archives of the Montana Historical Society in Helena, MT. It is said they have more than 23.500 photographs by him.

[charlie]

I'm very interesting about the 3 photos of Fort Laramie Treaty (1868). Who really is the mysterious man: RED BEAR (Sans Arc) or YELLOW BEAR (Spleen Oglala) I think more probably this last, because at the time (1868) he was surely more important. But i have controlled with attention all the signers, of every subdivision, of that treaty, and I HAVEN'T FOUND NO chiefs named "Red Bear" or "Yellow Bear". Could be the guy another chief?
George Hyde stated (in "Red Cloud Folk") that Yellow Bear I° travelled to Washington in June 1870, with Red Cloud and other chiefs, all Oglala. Anyone know if exsist an image of that important delegation? If yes, surely we could see also Yellow Bear and make a comparison with the mysterious man.
I have seen, anywhere in LBHA, an image named Yellow Bear (Spleen band) by Mitchell, but i think he is the younger brother, not him.
Can anyone tell me how and why Yellow Bear was killed, in 1870 or 1871, on the village near Rawhide Butte Creek? Thanks.

[ephriam]

Charlie:

1. There is only one known photograph of the 1870 delegation, but it does not show Yellow Bear.

2. Yes, there is a portrait of Yellow Bear taken by D. S. Mitchell at the Red Cloud Agency in the fall of 1877. He also appears in several of the delegation views in Washington D.C. that same year. I assume that this is a brother of the original Yellow Bear killed in 1872 but we have not yet found any confirmation. Two of his brothers were known in the later reservation period as Black Hawk and Red Willow -- I have wondered if one of them was this second Yellow Bear or if they are other brothers.

3. The first Yellow Bear was killed by John Richard in a feud over his sisters (Richard's former wives). The details of what happened are described by William Garnett who was present that day.

ephriam

[Dietmar]

The 1870 delegation photo is here:
www.american-tribes.com/Articles/ART/SiouxDelegationPhoto1870.htm

There probably is no answer to this question, but I wonder if no other delegates were willing to have their pictures taken than the five in the above photo. Red Cloud of course denied, but all others, too? Sigh...

[charlie]

What a wonderful image! What sense of savage and hostility! I like too much M. Brady.
Very strange that only Red Dog is a famous chief; the others are not. I think that must exsist other photos of that important delegation, in group or individual, somewhere in any Museum or Archivies.....Is not possible that Brady had make only one click! The delegation stopped several days in Washington. Anyway, the our man in 1868 Treaty photo remain a rebus...

[charlie]

What is the correct line-up of the 1870 delegation photo?
From left to right: (standing) BEAR SKIN - RED DOG - ROCKY BEAR
(knelling) LIVING BEAR - RED FOX
It's rhght? Thanks.

[Dietmar]

Yes, exactly Charlie.

Greetings.

[Dietmar]

In Father P. Powell´s "Sweet Medicine", page 115, there is the following footnote:

"Low Dog was half Cheyenne, half Sioux."

Any thoughts on this?

[Dietmar]

Emily Levine has sent me this scan for Shan:


1891 Blackfeet Sioux at Standing Rock Census

[emilylevine]

I'm not sure which Low Dog this is, I just know that Shan was Looking for a Low Dog that "disappeared" from the Cheyenne River records after 1891. I happened to come across this and thought his moving to Standing Rock might have been the reason why.
Maybe a completely different man altogether.Why an Oglala living at CR would then be counted among the Blackfeet at SR, I don't know.
My understanding is that Low Dog settled at Cheyenne River after returning from Canada.
I think he died there in 1894.

[shan]

emilylevine and Dietmar,

thanks for the information you posted. It is all very confusing, but from what I've been able to gather, there were at least two men of much the same age with the name Low Dog.

Both men were registered at the Standing Rock agency at one time, one of them who may have been given, or adopted the name Joshua Low Dog belonging to Bear Looks Backs band, these were Hunkpapa, so this isn't the man I'm looking for --- --- and the other man of the same name was part of Charging Bears band who were Blackfeet or Sila Sapa so I think this is him.

Some further information I have indicates that the Low Dog I'm looking for any information on was somehow related to Big Foot who was killed at Wounded Knee, hence the reason he was on the Cheyenne River agency. A man named Low Dog was said to have been amongst the party of 4 or 5 warriors, including Kicking Bear, who visited Wovoka, and a man called Low Dog was arrested and imprisoned after Wounded Knee for refusing to send a boy to school who may have been Big Foots son.

He was imprisoned at Fort Snelling for the best part of a year, and then returned to Cheyenne River agency where I've lost track of him. I can be sure that this is the same man as the one in the famous photograph, as he was photographed whilst in prison, and although his hair has been cut short, there is little doubt it's the same man

To add to the confusion, Richard Hardorff in one of his books says he died in 1894, but then in another book he says it was 1910. However he gives the Cheyenne river agency as the place he died in both cases.

The fact that this Low Dog was probably involved in the visit to Wovoka, and the fact that he was marked down as a trouble maker along with Hump at the time of Wounded Knee, certainly fits in with the reputation the man in the famous photograph was supposed to have been a man to beware of, which was the agents way of saying that he didn't want to adopt the white mans ways, or live the kind of life white men wanted him to live.

Any further information would be most appreciated.

Low Dog.

[jeroen]

Low Dog (?):

[swiftbird659]

I wonder if someone can help me with this same issue of who is Low Dog? I have two in my family records both are from Cheyenne River Agency. The first is a brother of Red Hair, CR#445,1832-1916 by the of Name Henry Low Dog Sr., 1850-189?. The second is Henry Low Dog Jr., 1890-after 1920. I also show two brothers of Henry Low Dog Sr., 1. Strong Bull, brother born 1859, 2. Catching Bear, Brother born 1850. I wonder if this could be the Low Dog family listed above or the Low Dog from the famous photo?

[Dietmar]

Jeroen,

great photo, but I´m sceptical about Low Dog. It seems to be taken at Carlisle Indian School, does anybody know about the photographer?

[gregor]

I know this picture also with the caption "Low Dog". Since this is apparently a 15 to 20 years old young man and the picture may have been shot in Carlisle, leads me to believe, that this is "Luke Low Dog" the son of Low Dog (later Joshua Low Dog). See also here:

www.american-tribes.com/Lakota/BIO/LowDog.htm

It is a working hypothesis. Perhaps Ladonna is able to help further.