Bohpa( Shoots them down) - hits the target.

[Mitchell BigHunter]

[Mitchell BigHunter]

Elsie Noels Interview. DL: This is Deborah Locke; I’m at Dakota Tipi First Nation near Portage la Prairie,
Canada, and I am with Elsie Noel on January 18, 2012. This is part of the oral history
project at the Minnesota Historical Society. Elsie is an elder with the Dakota Tipi First
Nation and we’re about to start our questions now. The first question is: could you spell
your name for me?
EN: E-L-S-I-E. Middle name too?
DL: Sure.
EN: B-O-H-P-A N-O-E-L.
DL: Very good; thanks. Do you have a nickname?
EN: No, I don’t. Not that I can think of.
DL: That’s all right. When and where were you born?
EN: I was born on Birdtail Sioux Reserve.
DL: And on what day?
EN: June 15, 1924.
DL: That would make you about 87 or 88.
U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 Oral History Project
Minnesota Historical Society
2
EN: 87. I’ll be 88 in June.
DL: Who were your parents; what were their names?
EN: My dad was Samuel Bohpa.
DL: And your mother?
EN: She was Florence Paul.
DL: How do you spell her last name?
EN: Just Paul.
DL: P-A-U-L.
EN: Yes.
DL: Your siblings, your brothers and sisters; how many did you have?
EN: 8 all together, but 2 died very young.
DL: Are any of them still alive?
EN: Yes, 2 sisters.
DL: What are the names of your grandparents on both sides?
EN: My grandfather on my dad’s side is Silas Bohpa and Ruth Bohpa, his wife. And
Silas’ mother is one of Red Cloud’s sisters.
DL: I see, Silas’ mother.
EN: Yes, is Red Cloud’s sister.
DL: Do you remember his mother’s name; Silas’ mother’s name?
EN: No, I don’t. They must have told me, but I was too small to remember. Before I
went to school they told me a lot of this stuff and then I was in a boarder school, so I
never did find out what their Indian names were.
DL: Silas was your grandfather, is that right?
EN: Yup.
DL: So then Silas’ mother would be your great-great grandmother.DL: Do you remember his mother’s name; Silas’ mother’s name?
EN: No, I don’t. They must have told me, but I was too small to remember. Before I
went to school they told me a lot of this stuff and then I was in a boarder school, so I
never did find out what their Indian names were.
DL: Silas was your grandfather, is that right?
EN: Yup.
DL: So then Silas’ mother would be your great-great grandmother.
U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 Oral History Project
Minnesota Historical Society
3
EN: Just my great-grandmother.
DL: Your great-grandmother. And she was the sister of Red Cloud.
EN: Yeah. I met a woman in Brandon Dakota, and she came from Rapid City; I kind of
forgot her name. Anyway, we all had to tell our background, like who our parents were
and all that. I told them that my dad always said Red Cloud was his grandfather, and
his sister was his grandma. And my grandpa, her husband, is John Bohpa; that’s my
great-grandpa. I guess they’re all from the States; they all came from over there. As a
matter of fact, my Grandma Ruth Paul, my dad’s mother, she has land in Sisseton and
one time they phoned me and told me I inherited my grandma’s land. But she never
made a will so they said I have to get the rest of the family, like my grandma’s two
daughters have children in that area still living, I have to get their birth certificates; it’s
the only way we can get anything out of it. Here is the link to the whole Interview.

[Mitchell BigHunter]

media.mnhs.org/things/cms/10267/105/AV2011_45_42_M.pdf?fbclid=IwAR04BYEY1UgYYEXyB2WN_-L8tP701WQHeAqBPuwPzAjGtbzl2RebuKMUbho

[Mitchell BigHunter]

[Mitchell BigHunter]

 

[Mitchell BigHunter]

digitalcollections.lib.umanitoba.ca/islandora/object/uofm%3A3121971#page/53/mode/1up

[Mitchell BigHunter]

 <The Koda Akisa Peters Recognized Bohpa - standing far right. It looks like Charlies Cuwiyuksa, standing beside him in the first picture, compared to his picture he has, but who knows...