White Shield Cheyenne Chief

[machawk]

"Chief White Shield (Wo-pah-he-vah or Wopowats) / Northern Cheyenne, formerly called Young Black Bird; son of Spotted Wolf (Ho’neovovohestse) and grandson of Whistling Elk. He survived the Washita massacre, where Custer's army killed an estimated 100 Cheyenne men, women, and children.He was the one who had a vision the night before the massacre of a wounded wolf mourning its pups that had been killed or scattered to the winds by a powerful enemy. The vision prompted White Shield to ask Chief Black Kettle to move the village. His request was ignored. White Shield was a hero of the LBH battle. He was fishing with his nephews when he heard the gunfire of Reno's attack on the south end of the village. He overtook Bobtain Horse and others who were the first to meet Custer at the river in the Little Bighorn battle."

"Chief White Shield (southern) Having distinguished himself as a warrior, particularly in two engagements with the Pawnee, he became a leader in the Bowstring soldier society, and in 1870 was formally elected to the council of chiefs. In the next year he was one of a delegation sent to Washington to represent the allied Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes after which he settled on the Oklahoma reservation in 1870"

ARE THERE TWO WHITE SHIELDS ? Can someone help me with this ?

[machawk]

Is perhaps the souther White Shield mentioned here Little Chief ..can someone help ?

[machawk]

Just to clarify - you have one who participated in the Little Big Horn in 1876 and another who went to Washington and then apparently retired peaceably to the reservation in 1870....doe not add up ?

[Deleted]

machawk,

In Fred Wagner's book, Participants in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, he has entries for White Shield and Little Chief.

White Shield, aka Young Black Bird, Southern Cheyenne (CBHMA). Northern Cheyenne (Myers)

Still alive in 1908, father of Porcupine, son of Spotted Wolf, one of the bravest of the old time Cheyenne warriors, Custer at ford B was confronted by a handful of Cheyenne warriors and possibly a couple Sioux. White Shield showed up moments later, presence confirmed by Myers.

As for Little Chief, there are 3 entries:

Little Chief - Sioux, born circa 1872

Little Chief - Northern Cheyenne, a "Council of the 44" chief

Little Chief - Southern Cheyenne, fishing in the river with White Shield not far from Ash/Reno Creek when they spotted the soldiers (LBHA)

That's all I have but you might ask over here:

amertribes.proboards.com/

[machawk]

Thank you very much. But we still do not have the answer to the question posed by the fact that I had read that the one who was definitely southern had gone to Washington in the 60's (not the 1851 trip with Little Chief and Whiote Antelope but later) and then had retired as a committed peace chief on the Oklaham reservation by 1870......so that cannot be the same White Shield if White Shield was an active combatant at Rosebud and LBH

[machawk]

This is the part on the Southern White shield - this one could not possibly have fought at LBH


"Wopohwats

Wopohwats (Wo’poh’´wăts, White Shield Owner, commonly known to the whites as White Shield). A former chief of the Southern Cheyenne, born about 1833 on an upper branch of North Platte River Wyoming; died in 1883 near the present Kingfisher, Oklahoma. In accordance with Indian custom, he had different names, at different periods. As a young man he was known as Mouse Road His more famous name was bestowed on him in 1862 by his uncle, the noted Black Kettle, killed in the battle of the Washita, who had previously borne the name himself. About the year 1878 he assumed his grandfather’s name of Buffalo Beard, which he kept until his death.

Having distinguished himself as a warrior, particularly in two engagements with the Pawnee, he became a leader in the Bowstring soldier society, and in 1870 was formally elected to the council of chiefs. In the next year he was one of a delegation sent to Washington to represent the allied Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes then established on a reservation in Oklahoma, and with his companions received from President Grant a treaty medal bearing the device of a pipe, a plow, a globe, and a Bible, which were explained to symbolize peace, agriculture, education, and Christianity. White Shield accepted all this literally, and on his return became an earnest advocate of civilization, schools, and mission work. Throughout the outbreak of 1874-75 he held his band quiet at the agency. In 1881 he was again chosen as delegate, but was unable to go by reason of the death of his daughter, tribal custom forbidding participation in public business by anyone in mourning. As was common with the Plains Indians, he had two wives, who were sisters. His son, Harvey White Shield (see Hishkowits), is one of the best educated young men in the tribe and an efficient mission helper and interpreter."

and this is the source ; Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico

[quincannon]

I read all of your entries, and in particular the first one about the White Shield who evidently was at LBH and had his fishing trip postponed due to somewhat more pressing matters.

So what this entry says is that he was fishing and heard firing at the south end of the village. Presumably he had no weapons with him, although he might have. He possibly stops at his personal campsite, gathers his weapons, probably his mobility as well, overtakes his buddy, and they are among the first to meet Custer at the river. Here is where the story presents a problem for someone trying to glean a smidgen of information from it. Did he ride to the sound of the guns, and that "Custer" he met was Reno down south? Was he passing by MTC when Smith and E got there, and pitched into them? Custer in person was probably somewhere to the rear of Smith, that is if he was doing his job or commanding and observing. Or was he among those who actually did meet Custer at the river in the Ford C-D area. It is a very nice story, and no doubt contains some truth. I have no doubt that it does, but I think you can see how in and of itself it tells those trying to reconstruct the battle diddly squat, unless it is placed in some context with other narratives. As it is it tells us only that this fellow, along with his buddy engaged someone(s) wearing blue in an area along a river that could constitute a length of a couple of miles. Every Indian that day engaged "Custer". and very few engaged Custer.

All this was not your purpose in posting. You are seeking information and verification. LBH is quite short of both.

[Deleted]

Jun 8, 2014 5:30:01 GMT -6 machawk said:

Thank you very much. But we still do not have the answer to the question posed by the fact that I had read that the one who was definitely southern had gone to Washington in the 60's (not the 1851 trip with Little Chief and Whiote Antelope but later) and then had retired as a committed peace chief on the Oklaham reservation by 1870......so that cannot be the same White Shield if White Shield was an active combatant at Rosebud and LBH

Machawk,

Sign up at the link I posted earlier and ask your question.  There, you'll find, are many who can assist you.  Best of luck with your quest.

[cheyennecna]

Even though this forum is pretty barren and old by now, and though no one will probably ever read this, I would like to thank everyone on here for at least chronicling White Shield on the internet for as long as the internet exist. I’m a direct descendant of White Shield. I don’t want to even try to guess how many “greats” I’m gonna have to say but he is my great(x?) grandfather. And I can’t even imagine what my life would’ve been like or what the lives of my people would’ve been like if it weren’t for him. He’s a true hero to me. To my people. Even though his name isn’t so widely known. Although we have our struggles, we still get through them because he made it possible to as a people.

I hope he’s never forget.

[Colt45]

Thanks for posting this. There were many heroes on both sides of this battle. I personally am interested in the NA side of the battle as much as the army side. I salute you and your great {?} grandfather.

[herosrest]

^Ducemus

I visited Ameritribes and quote and link.

When White Shield died in 1883, afterwards there was an other Southern Cheyenne chief with the same name. He was the leader of the Red Moon band. ( That chief was not Harvey White Shield, who was never a chief ) This band lived near Hammon ( Oklahoma ) .

Named for Indian Agent James H. Hammon, the community is a melding of two cultures. After the passage of the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 the Cheyenne and Arapaho received 160-acre allotments. The most notable allotment, located adjacent to the north side of town, belonged to Chief White Shield. Until the 1960s many Cheyenne lived there communally in what was known as "White Shield Camp" or "Old Camp." Non-Indian settlers came to the area to establish homes and businesses during the Cheyenne-Arapaho land opening on April 19, 1892. After the land opening, James Hammon was sent to the Red Moon Agency, near the future site of Hammon, to build a reservation school and to teach the Cheyenne and Arapaho to farm. The Red Moon Agency was a subagency of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Agency at Darlington, north of Fort Reno.

There is a photograph of a Southern Cheyenne, that shows White Shield at the age 25 and a boy with the name Porcupine. The photograph was made by John K. Hillers in 1875.

Read more: amertribes.proboards.com/thread/2100/chief-white-shield#ixzz5sjA0cc2N

White Sield was one of George Bird Grinnell's informants concerning the Crook and Custer battles. This is a 'search in text' query on the online book at Hathi Trust. His story as given to Grinnell. link

[noggy]

Jul 2, 2019 21:44:59 GMT -6 cheyennecna said:

Even though this forum is pretty barren and old by now, and though no one will probably ever read this, I would like to thank everyone on here for at least chronicling White Shield on the internet for as long as the internet exist. I’m a direct descendant of White Shield. I don’t want to even try to guess how many “greats” I’m gonna have to say but he is my great(x?) grandfather. And I can’t even imagine what my life would’ve been like or what the lives of my people would’ve been like if it weren’t for him. He’s a true hero to me. To my people. Even though his name isn’t so widely known. Although we have our struggles, we still get through them because he made it possible to as a people.

I hope he’s never forget.

Thankfully, Native American history as a subject is in a much better state today than some decades ago. With dedicated sites and scholars, neither your x-grandfather or the others will likely be forgotten.

I`d recommend checking out www.american-tribes.com/ 

All the best,
Noggy

[tubman13]

Check with Linwood Tall Bull on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation or the keeper of the Sacred Arrows on the Southern Reservation the last I knew was William Red Hat(Veteran) passed in the last year or so. The tribal office could help in your search.

Regards,
Tom