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Post by glenbow on Apr 14, 2020 5:56:09 GMT -5
I have been searching for information regarding the relatives of the Hunkpapa Lakota war chief Crow King. James McLaughlin wrote in his memoirs that a brother and sister were with Crow King when he died at Fort Yates in the spring of 1884. Robert Utely mentioned in his biography of Sitting Bull that Crow King's brother, whom he didn't name, was an envoy for Sitting Bull during the Lakota's years in Canada. This man and a few others traveled to Standing Rock in 1880 to observe how the Lakota who'd already returned to their ancestral lands below the Medicine Line were being treated at the agencies.
Crow King's two daughters are listed in an annuity record from Standing Rock in 1885 as belonging to the band of a man named High Bear. I'm curious to know if he may have been Crow King's brother. Is anyone familiar with this High Bear's history, or know if there are any existing photographs of him? James McLaughlin stated that a brother named High Bear died before Crow King but he didn't mention the year, so the existing information is a little confusing.
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Post by grahamew on Apr 14, 2020 8:15:18 GMT -5
I imagine you have seen the Sitting Bull Surrender Ledger, but if not: there is a High Bear on the 1881 annuity list for Crow King's band. There is a brother-in-law, Old Horse, in the section listing Crow King's family, and two sisters-in-law, Brave Woman and Cow. There's no mention in the section on High Bear's family as to whether or not he was related to Crow King. According to the ledger, there were two High Bears among the Hunkpapa at that time; one seems to have been an 'agency Indian' and a farmer. I think the man who, in the 1885 Standing Rock ration list, was listed as being with Bear Face's band, was probably the Agency man, as both he and Bear Face are listed in Thunder Hawk's band in 1881. There are several photos of Lakota called High Bear. The age of the man in Crow King's band is given as 39 in the 1881 ledger so I wonder of this is the man; however, I've also seen this identified as a photo of a Cheyenne man called High Bear (though he's clearly the man in the Heyn photo below): This is by Barry, somewhere around 1885, I would imagine. There are other, later photos. This is from the 1888 Standing Rock delegation photo and High Bear is identified as the man on the left. Same man? The man in traditional dress? 1888 delegation, from the Standing Rock section. No. 37 in this photo? Same man? And again, by Heyn, 1898.
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Post by Dietmar on Apr 14, 2020 8:25:48 GMT -5
I agree that is the same High Bear in all photos.
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Post by grahamew on Apr 14, 2020 8:35:30 GMT -5
Is this? Taken 3-4 years earlier than the Barry and in the same studio that Gall and Crow King were photographed by Gilbert. Not sure the face is long enough.
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Post by Dietmar on Apr 14, 2020 10:29:48 GMT -5
Not sure, I would tend to say no. [edit: after looking at the same portrait in better quality I´m sure it isn´t High Bear]
There were many High Bears, I found several of them in Standing Rock lists, two of them as chiefs. The one photographed so often by Heyn, Barry and Rinehart possibly is a Upper Yanktonai.
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Post by glenbow on Apr 15, 2020 8:26:14 GMT -5
Thanks to all of you for this information. The man in traditional dress appears to be wearing the split buffalo horn headdress of the Strong Heart (Midnight Strong Heart?) warrior society of the Hunkpapa. I have seen photographs of Sitting Bull and Rain-in-the-Face wearing a very similar headdress although it may have been an item that was previously obtained by the photographer, David Barry, and later used to embellish the costumes of the warriors who posed for him. Frances Densmore noted over the course of her research at Standing Rock in the early 1900s that Crow King was one of the key organizers of the Midnight Strong Hearts. The connection to High Bear's appearance is interesting, as it does not appear to be staged as was usually the case within a photographer's studio.
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