Three Grizzly Bears - Oglala

[Frank]

Anyone have any detailed info about this guy:

I'll appreciate any details, thanks.

[Frank]

What I'm wondering (since it is quite "new" picture) is that was the guy only handsome and thats why the photo was taken or did he actually "do something" worth remembering in his life...

[gary]

I believe that this picture was taken during a trip to Washington by a Lakota delegation in 1877. The warbonnet appears to the same one that is shown in the famous photograph of Little Big Man. American Horse was also pictured wearing it, as was Little Wound. It also appears in a photograph of Sword and, I suspect, others that I have not seen.

Gary

[Frank]

Hey, thanks for that! If you got any "info" about the fellow too I would be happy to hear it!

[gary]

I have not seen this photograph before, but I presume that it shows a warriors who is usually known as Three Bears, a leader of the Kiocses or Kiyuksa (Cut Offs) band of the Oglalas. I am sure that someone will correct me if this is wrong. There is a photograph of Three Bears in 'The Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger' and it seems to be the same man. Three Bears was part of the anti-Crazy Horse faction after the Lakota surrender in 1877. According to Olson ('Red Cloud and the Sioux Problem'), the Lakota delegation visited Washington in September 1877 when Three Bears and others met President Hayes.

[Frank]

Dunno what else to say but....thank you, that lightens things a lot.
Here is colored version of the pic I made one night:

I aint sayin I got all the colors "right", and I know I didnt, but for me its always both weird and interesting at the sametime to look at some old colored photos.... its almost as if you would have been there witnessing the situation...how it might have looked live.

[Dietmar]

First of all welcome to this board, Frank. I visited your website last year and copied the coloured version of the Three Bears photograph. Great, how did you do that?

I think Gary is right with everything he said about Three Bears. He was an outstanding war leader of the Kiyuksas. He might had been to the Southern Oglalas what Crazy Horse had been to the Northern Oglalas or Spotted Eagle to the Sans Arc.
I think I read somewhere he was in Little Wound´s band, but I am not sure. Perhaps he was even related to him (nephew?).
Three Bears also often affiliated with the tiyospaye of Fire Lightning and Two Lance (see Catherine Price: “The Oglala People”). He had come to the (Red Cloud) agency in summer 1873 (or 1874) with nine lodges, accompanied by Two Lance with thirteen tipis.
He soon became a scout for the army and a member of the agency Indian police. He rose to first sergeant of the Sioux contingent at Pine Ridge.
In 1874 he had his role in protecting Emmet Crawford´s detachment at the agency, when agent Saville tried to erect a flagstaff at the agency ground and Sioux warriors tried to revolt against it.
In 1876 he was with the Indian scouts who helped destroying Dull Knife´s Cheyenne village and in 1877 he fought at Slim Buttes with the U.S. army.
He was in opposition to Crazy Horse when he settled at Pine Ridge in 1877 (see “Crazy Horse” by K. Bray), even threatening him in council one time.

John G. Bourke, staff member of General Crook, wrote about Three Bears:
Three Bears (“Mato yamani”), a warrior fierce in battle and humane to the vanquished. I remember his coming into my tent one dismally cold night, while we lay on the Belle Fourche, on the outskirts of the Black Hills, after wiping out Dull Knife´s village. Three Bears´s eyes were moist, and he shook his head mournfully as he said, “Cheyenne papoose heap hung´y”.

You can find his picture in all those delegation photographs of 1877 in Washington. As Gary said, D.S. Mitchell also photographed him.
Here is a Godkin photo of Three Bears:


I am sure others will have more on Three Bears…

Best wishes

Dietmar

[Frank]

Hey, thanks for the welcoming and the feedback about the coloring. I used Photoshop and then I just made several layers out of the original picture and colored them one by one... damn slow way to do it but it comes out nicely if you are carefull. Here is one gif animation about the same pick I made where you can see the colors changing:


and half colored which I think looks cool ;D :


Thanks a million for the info about the Three Bears (is it wrong to say Three Grizzly Bears?) for both you and what do you think, is it ok if I quote some of your comment on my website about him (with credits ofcourse)? Actually...I alredy did ;D :
www.franksrealm.com/Indians/tribes/Sioux_Lakota/Oglala/pages/oglala-threegrizzlybears.htm
So, let me know at once if you want me to take it down and I will!!

I've just been trying hard as hell to find some info about him and now what you gave is first I ever got... I just would want to give even some detailed info about him on my website besides the photo of him. Let me know, thanks.

[Dietmar]

No problem, Frank.

Most sources name this man Three Bears. Actually Mato is the Lakota word for Grizzly Bear, so that would be more correct, I think.

[Frank]

You have made my day Sir Dietmar and I will spread the info about Three Bears through my website. Thanks a lot!

[charlie]

Frank: my compliments, great work! How did must be the Native American world at colours! If you like the Indian's chiefs photos handle-colored, i advice to you this wonderful books (in Italian language): "80 RITRATTI DI CAPI INDIANI" - Author: Daniele Cazzola - Publisher: Rusconi Libri -
It contain 80 original photos of famous Indian Chiefs handle-colored by an Italian expert (Daniele Cazzola). Very very good book!!! To Dietmar: you are irreplaceable!!!

[Dietmar]

Charlie, I hope my wife knows that, too... ;D

[Frank]

Charlie, thanks for the book name! Ill start looking for it!
Dietmar...all my best to your wife that if she dont believe you are, then she can call me and I wlll tell her that you are. ;D

[Diane Merkel]

An Italian, a German, and a Finn having fun on these boards. . . . You guys have no idea how much that pleases me. I adore you all!

[gary]

And an Englishman.

Gary