Welcome to our Famous Native Americans page.

Here you will find photographs and descriptions of many famous Native Americans, some of whom may be familiar to you and some you may not have heard of before.  

 

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Sitting Bull (Slon-he) - Hunkpapa Sioux

Sitting Bull is probably one of the most recognisable and  well known Native Americans.

A warrior, medicine man and tribal chief of the Hunkpapa Sioux, he was born in 1834 on the Grand River in South Dakota.

When he was a young boy he was known as Jumping Badger. At the age of 14 he took the name Four Horns after he accompanied a war party against the Crow Indians, but it wasn't until he "made medicine" that he changed his name to Tatanka Yotanka, or Sitting Buffalo Bull.   

Sitting Bull spent many years on the war path and in 1876, after refusing to settle on a reservation, he went into battle against General Custer at Little Big Horn. General Custer met disaster when he came face to face with around 3000 Indian warriors.

After this, Sitting bull took a party of Sioux into Canada to avoid any more attempts to force his people onto the reservations. They remained here until 1881, when the desperate conditions forced them to surrender. After being placed on the reservations, Sitting Bull encouraged the oraganising of the first Ghost Dance at the Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota, and became the recognised leader of the Ghost Dance religion.

Sitting Bull was killed by Indian police on 15th December 1890, when it was claimed he resisted arrest.

He was buried at Fort Yates, North Dakota.

In 1953 his bones were taken by Gray Eagle and a band from Bullhead, South Dakota and transferred to Mobridge South Dakota. A dispute arose as to which state was entitled to his remains, however it is unlikely they will ever be moved again.

The story of this remarkable man's early life is preserved by picture writing, drawn by himself shortly before his death. 

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

May the Warm Winds of Heaven blow softly upon your house. May the Great Spirit bless all who enter there. May your mocassins make happy tracks in many snows, and may the Rainbow always touch your shoulder.

Cherokee Prayer Blessing.

 

Will Rogers (Actor) - Cherokee Heritage

 William Penn Adair "Will" Rogers was born in 1879 on Dog Iron Ranch in Indian Territory to parents of Cherokee heritage.

He developed a trick roping act and performed in Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies in New York adding a comic narration to his act.

Later he performed in many silent films and eventually went to Hollywood and became one of the most popular movie stars of the time. Duing the Great Depression, he was an influential performer and columnist in both radio and print.

He was also an avid fan of early aviation. Tragically he lost his life in a plane crash at Point Barrow, Alaska, on 15th August 1935.

 

Jim Thorpe (Wa-Tho-Huk)

 Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe was born in Indian Territory in 1887. His parents were both half-blood Indians but his mother was a descendant of Sauk-Fox Chief Black Hawk and was raised in that tradition.

Jim Thorpe was a medal winner in the 1912 Olympic Games in the pentathlon and decathlon, although his medals were taken away because of the fact that he had previously played minor league baseball. 

He went on to play major league baseball and played and coached for the Canton, Ohio football team, one of the original teams in the National Football League (N.F.L.). He played a total of 52 N.F.L. games.

His Olympic medals were later reinstated and presented to his children in 1983.