Crazy Horse - Good Earth Woman

[seneca06]

Greetings all, I am a newbie to your site and have found the info discussed and shared throughout the site truly amazing so I am hoping one of you smart people out there can help me out.

I am a recently retired Army officer and to keep me off the streets I have gone into business for myself selling vintage cowboy gear and NA bead work. I have been collecting for 20+ years and my taste has out grown my check book so I am selling off some of my low/middle end items so I can afford the really good stuff. This past weekend while I was doing an antique show here in Spokane a gentleman approached me with one heck of family story concerning a pair of beaded pants.

Here is his story. He is Sioux from the Cheyenne River rez. He had passed down to him these leather pants with beading down the legs that he claims was done by a great aunt/grandmother. Claims they were made in the early 1870's and now for the good part......they were made for Crazy Horse. The maker was supposed to be a niece of CH called Good Earth Woman. She was married to an Irishman name Dick Dunn who changed her name to Mary Red Leaf. The owner of these pants says he has documentation that Dunn came to US in 1848 from Ireland and then came out west and ran supplies out to the Army posts, mostly Ft Laramie.

While making one of these deliveries a group of Indians came and stole half of his goods and so Dunn then followed them back to their camp where he then entered the camp and kidnapped Good Earth Woman and eventually married her. So that is the sequence of events. I have examined the pants and they may be of that period. However, the beading is Santee style. I asked the owner why the eastern pattern when CH was Oglala. He replied that the grandfather of Good Earth Woman was a Chief Red Leaf who was supposed to have come from the Minnesota area in the late 1700's.

I have not found anything in goggling any of these names to collaborate the story. I know the board members are extremely knowledgeable in these unusual stories and hopefully someone will validate the story of Good Earth Woman or say it is a bunch of hooey and just a family urban (rez) legend. Thanks in advance for any and all info. Nya weh.

[conz]

Sen...

That's a tough one to run down, even in Native circles. But you may have better luck over at the Native American forum (see announcement thread at top of this chapter to get link).

And thanks for your service!

Clair

[tatanka]

If you direct your query to Ladonna on the site conz suggested she may be able to help you.

[clw]

Bridges in Brooklyn come to mind. I know the CH family on Cheyenne River and this is a new one for me. In fact, I'm emailing that story to them. Just for giggles. It a great story. If he'd left CH out of it, it would still have been a great story! Who knows??

The only Red Leaf I know of is a Brule chief who in his earlier days took part in the turmoil produced around Ft Laramie in 1854 by the Grattan affair.

[seneca06]

Conz and Tatanka, I did as you suggested and did post the same info under Oglala at the American-Native site.

CLW, I am just as skeptical but the individual had some very detailed info that just makes you wonder. I hope you hear from your friends at Cheyenne River, would love to get their input. Will be anxiously standing by!!!

[ladonna]

Oct 7, 2008 15:05:26 GMT -6 seneca06 said:

Greetings all, I am a newbie to your site and have found the info discussed and shared throughout the site truly amazing so I am hoping one of you smart people out there can help me out.

I am a recently retired Army officer and to keep me off the streets I have gone into business for myself selling vintage cowboy gear and NA bead work. I have been collecting for 20+ years and my taste has out grown my check book so I am selling off some of my low/middle end items so I can afford the really good stuff. This past weekend while I was doing an antique show here in Spokane a gentleman approached me with one heck of family story concerning a pair of beaded pants.

Here is his story. He is Sioux from the Cheyenne River rez. He had passed down to him these leather pants with beading down the legs that he claims was done by a great aunt/grandmother. Claims they were made in the early 1870's and now for the good part......they were made for Crazy Horse. The maker was supposed to be a niece of CH called Good Earth Woman. She was married to an Irishman name Dick Dunn who changed her name to Mary Red Leaf. The owner of these pants says he has documentation that Dunn came to US in 1848 from Ireland and then came out west and ran supplies out to the Army posts, mostly Ft Laramie.

While making one of these deliveries a group of Indians came and stole half of his goods and so Dunn then followed them back to their camp where he then entered the camp and kidnapped Good Earth Woman and eventually married her. So that is the sequence of events. I have examined the pants and they may be of that period. However, the beading is Santee style. I asked the owner why the eastern pattern when CH was Oglala. He replied that the grandfather of Good Earth Woman was a Chief Red Leaf who was supposed to have come from the Minnesota area in the late 1700's.

I have not found anything in goggling any of these names to collaborate the story. I know the board members are extremely knowledgeable in these unusual stories and hopefully someone will validate the story of Good Earth Woman or say it is a bunch of hooey and just a family urban (rez) legend. Thanks in advance for any and all info. Nya weh.

We know that Crazy Horse Mother was a Mnicoujou but I never heard of a white man stealing a woman in the family. There were so few in our part of the country at that time people would remember