"We Belong To The North" an article by Kingsley

[Agnes]

Dear Everyone!

I compliment to Kingsley, he did admirable work!

I read kis article "We Belong to the North": The Flight of the Northern Indians from the White River Agencies 1877-1878, published in Montana: The Magazine of Western History.

I found it very useful and interesting. For me, it emerged many questions.

Firstly, the description of the route of Red Cloud column and the route of the flights is little hard to me, because I'm not american. I read the article on the Internet, therefore I don't know are there's some map about the movements of the Indians?

Sincerely:
Agnes

[Agnes]

Hello!

The Miniconjou Fast Bull was the son of Lame Deer?

I read in the book "Lame Deer, Seeker Of Visions" (in hungarian translation), the following:
"My great-grandfather was the chief of the Miniconjous, one of the seven western tribes of the Sioux Nation. He married three women. His first wife had three sons: Did Not Butcher, Flying By, and my grandfather Crazy Heart. The second wife bore only one girl. My other granfather was called Good Fox."

Crazy Heart desterted the Red Cloud Column in 17. Nov. 1877.

Perhaps the name Fast Bull was another name either for Flying By, Did Not Butcher or Good Fox?

[kingsleybray]

Agnes, thankyou for your kind words about 'We Belong to the North'. About Lame Deer's family it is clear that Fast Bull and Crazy Heart were two different sons. In the Spotted Tail Agency census for 1877 there is a tally of the surrendering Lame Deer camp in August-September. Among the families enrolled on Sept. 11 "From the North" are those of Fast Bull (1 man, 2 women, 3 boys, 2 girls: 8 people total), and Foolish Heart (1 man, 8 women, 3 boys: 12 people total). The son named by Archie Fire Lame Deer as Did Not Butcher is listed in the census as No Butcher, enrolled alone on August 27. The entry carries a notation that No Butcher was "added to Yellow Robe", Yellow Robe being listed as belonging to the Wazhazha band.

One of the best sources on the family is the statement of Flying By, one of Lame Deer's sons, to Walter Camp: Camp papers at Lilly Library, University of Indiana, Indianapolis, Kenneth Hammer transcript pp 354-55. He said that "Lame Deer had 7 girls and 3 boys. Boys Flying By and Fool Heart - Chante Witko [and] Shoots Bear Running - Mato kute Inyaike. Two brothers [last named] now dead. [Flying By] Has two sisters now living, one living on Standing Rock, Mrs. White Horse and one at Cherry Creek, wife of First Eagle."

On p. 274 Camp states that the man killed with Lame Deer at the battle of Muddy Creek, May 7, 1877 was Ankle, the son of Lame Deer's brother Belly Fat (Ceshiksiche, literally the fat covering the paunch).

Fast Bull led the forty lodges that fled from Spotted Tail Agency late in Sept. 1877. I don't know of any subsequent records of him. Perhaps he died before the return from Canada. Shoots Bear Running was a name also borne by Lame Deer himself,after a war exploit against the Assiniboin ca. 1835. It may be that the son who carried this name was Fast Bull. Several Miniconjou winter counts record the death of Shoots Bear Running in 1879, killed by Crows. Ephriam may be able to help us out on this.

According to contemporary elders at Cheyenne River Lame Deer belonged to the Wakpokinyan, or Flying River band. This was the band also associated with Lone Horn and his sons, including Touch the Clouds. I suspect the band split into treaty (Lone Horn) and anti-treaty (Lame Deer) factions in 1868.

Hope this helps!

Kingsley

[Agnes]

Dear Kingsley!

Thank You very much! Very interesting, Lame Deer hadn't three girls, but seven... One point isn't clear. Lame Deer mentioned his another grandfather Good Fox who was at the Custer battle and survived Wounded Knee. There's no mentions about him?

And Belly Fat not the same with Fat On The Beef who was killed when he tried to surrender with other chiefs to Nelson Miles at Tongue in December 1876?

Sorry if I made mistake!
Your sincerely:
Agnes

[kahli846]

Dear Kingsley,
Re: We belong to the North. Read your article online and was so very pleased to be able to follow the movements and the all the politics going on at the time. It confirmed for me the impact of the death of Crazy Horse had on the people,despite many who have said different. The insertion of brief descriptins of key players is an added plus. Can't wait to buy the book and continue to read your posts.
DeAnn