Little Owl (Arapaho chief)

Last updated

Little Owl (Arapaho: Beah-at-sah-ah-tch-che) was a Northern Arapaho chief who signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851). [1] Disturbed by the ways in which the United States government neglected to honor their promises made in the treaty, Little Owl refused to participate in discussion and signing of the Fort Wise Treaty.

Contents

Life

Little Owl was chief of the Long Legs band of the Northern Arapaho people. [1] [2] His relative, Sherman Sage, a later elder, described life among his family. People lived in family groups, generally of groupings of sisters. There were generally four bands of northern Arapaho: the Beavers, Greasy Faces, the Quick-to-anger, and the Long Legs or Antelopes. [2] They lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle who moved together in groups throughout the seasons. They gathered with other groups for hunting and ceremonies, like the Sun Dance. There was one chief for each band and a head chief, usually of the Long Legs band. The head chief negotiated with leaders of other Native American tribes and whites. [2] The head chief "possessed great influence over the whole; that his mandates were uniformly characterized by discretion and propriety, and were regarded by his subjects as inviolable laws." [2] Little Owl followed Bear Claw as head chief. [2] Little Owl's successor was Medicine Man. [3]

Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851

Little Owl, a friendly middle-aged chief, [4] was selected as the Arapaho head chief to sign the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851). [5] From the South Arapaho were Cute Nose and Big Man. [6] Autho-nishah, an elder of the Arapaho nation, urged Little Owl and other signers to make a moral commitment to honor the provisions of the treaty. He said, "the Great Spirit is over us, and sees us all." [5] Little Owl was respected by the white people who knew him. [4] During negotiations, Little Owl and other Arapaho presented their positions with a conciliatory tone, as opposed to the Sioux, who gave "begging speeches". [4] Little Owl wore a uniform of a high-ranking officer that was a gift from the United States government. The uniform identified him as a powerful Arapaho. [7] Big Man and Little Owl signed the amended treaty for the Arapaho on August 31, 1853. [8] Upon signing the treaty, the Northern Arapaho were a federally recognized tribe. [2]

Broken promises

Arapaho chiefs Eagle Head, Split-nose, Little Owl, and Friday by James D. Hutton, during the Raynolds expedition of 1859-1860 Arapaho chiefs - Raynolds expedition - 1859 or 1860.jpg
Arapaho chiefs Eagle Head, Split-nose, Little Owl, and Friday by James D. Hutton, during the Raynolds expedition of 1859-1860

After 1851, Friday became an interpreter for Little Owl. [9] Little Owl's band consisted of 180 lodges who visited the surveying party of Ferdinand V. Hayden and Captain William F. Raynolds. [10]

Denver in 1859, Collier & Cleveland Litho Company, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. Denver 1859.jpg
Denver in 1859, Collier & Cleveland Litho Company, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Arapaho people had often camped at the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River. With the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, miners settled in the area that became the city of Denver. The Arapahos had tried to live peacefully with white men. [2]

Denver was troubled with a good deal of lawlessness, and one night in particular two horse thieves were shot as they were attempting to steal horses of a corral. This made a good deal of talk and excitement in the town, and the Indians decided that the white men were a rather disreputable lot. [2]

In the 1850s, the United States government broke their treaty agreements, which ruined the reputation of the friendly chiefs who had signed the 1851 treaty. Warriors were more revered. A newcomer to treaty negotiations, Medicine Man was selected as the Arapaho's spokesman at the 1859 treaty council. Other headmen in attendance were Little Owl, Black Bear, Friday, and Cut Nose. [11]

Fort Wise Treaty

Little Owl refused to participate in the signing or recognition of the Treaty of Fort Wise (1861). The Colorado bands of Arapahoes were ready to accept life on a reservation at Sand Creek, [12] while Little Owl and Friday wished to continue to live along the Cache la Poudre River in northern Colorado. [13] Little Owl was still against moving his band of about 50 lodges to Sand Creek in 1863, when the reservation was established. There was no game on the land, and buffalo were 100 or more miles away. At the time, there was also dissension between the Northern and Southern Arapaho people. [14] Starvation became a significant issue that caused concern that the Southern Arapaho might join the Sioux in a war against the whites. [15]

During the Sand Creek massacre of November 29, 1864, whites attacked an encampment of Arapaho and Cheyenne without provocation. After that, Arapaho became known as "war chiefs" for their wars against the whites in Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arapaho</span> Native American tribe

The Arapaho are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheyenne</span> Native American Indian tribe from the Great Plains

The Cheyenne are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enrolled in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma, and the Northern Cheyenne, who are enrolled in the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese. The tribes merged in the early 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand Creek massacre</span> 1864 killing of Cheyenne and Arapaho people by US troops during the American Indian Wars

The Sand Creek massacre was a massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho people by the U.S. Army in the American Indian Wars that occurred on November 29, 1864, when a 675-man force of the Third Colorado Cavalry under the command of U.S. Volunteers Colonel John Chivington attacked and destroyed a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in southeastern Colorado Territory, killing and mutilating an estimated 69 to over 600 Native American people. Chivington claimed 500 to 600 warriors were killed. However, most sources estimate around 150 people were killed, about two-thirds of whom were women and children. The location has been designated the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site and is administered by the National Park Service. The massacre is considered part of a series of events known as the Colorado Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Kettle</span> Leader of the Southern Cheyenne

Black Kettle was a prominent leader of the Southern Cheyenne during the American Indian Wars. Born to the Northern Só'taeo'o / Só'taétaneo'o band of the Northern Cheyenne in the Black Hills of present-day South Dakota, he later married into the Wotápio / Wutapai band of the Southern Cheyenne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Territory</span> Historic region of the US, 1861 to 1876

The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dog Soldiers</span> Military society of the Cheyenne nation

The Dog Soldiers or Dog Men are historically one of six Cheyenne military societies. Beginning in the late 1830s, this society evolved into a separate, militaristic band that played a dominant role in Cheyenne resistance to the westward expansion of the United States in the area of present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming, where the Cheyenne had settled in the early nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Cloud's War</span> Part of the Sioux Wars

Red Cloud's War was an armed conflict between an alliance of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho peoples against the United States and the Crow Nation that took place in the Wyoming and Montana territories from 1866 to 1868. The war was fought over control of the western Powder River Country in present north-central Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Wolf</span> Native American chief

Little Wolf was a Northern Só'taeo'o Chief and Sweet Medicine Chief of the Northern Cheyenne. He was known as a great military tactician and led a dramatic escape from confinement in Oklahoma back to the Northern Cheyenne homeland in 1878, known as the Northern Cheyenne Exodus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sioux Wars</span> Conflicts between the United States and indigenous Sioux tribes from 1854 to 1891

The Sioux Wars were a series of conflicts between the United States and various subgroups of the Sioux people which occurred in the later half of the 19th century. The earliest conflict came in 1854 when a fight broke out at Fort Laramie in Wyoming, when Sioux warriors killed 31 American soldiers in the Grattan Fight, and the final came in 1890 during the Ghost Dance War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado War</span> 19th-century armed conflict of the American Indian Wars

The Colorado War was an Indian War fought in 1864 and 1865 between the Southern Cheyenne, Arapaho, and allied Brulé and Oglala Sioux peoples versus the U.S. Army, Colorado militia, and white settlers in Colorado Territory and adjacent regions. The Kiowa and the Comanche played a minor role in actions that occurred in the southern part of the Territory along the Arkansas River. The Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux played the major role in actions that occurred north of the Arkansas River and along the South Platte River, the Great Platte River Road, and the eastern portion of the Overland Trail. The United States government and Colorado Territory authorities participated through the 1st Colorado Cavalry Regiment, often called the Colorado volunteers. The war was centered on the Colorado Eastern Plains, extending eastward into Kansas and Nebraska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind River Indian Reservation</span> Indian reservation in Wyoming, United States

The Wind River Indian Reservation, in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming, is shared by two Native American tribes, the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho. Roughly 60 mi (97 km) east to west by 50 mi (80 km) north to south, the Indian reservation is located in the Wind River Basin, and includes portions of the Wind River Range, Owl Creek Mountains, and Absaroka Range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851)</span> Treaty on territorial claims of Native Americans

The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was signed on September 17, 1851 between United States treaty commissioners and representatives of the Cheyenne, Sioux, Arapaho, Crow, Assiniboine, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nations. Also known as Horse Creek Treaty, the treaty set forth traditional territorial claims of the tribes.

The Treaty of Fort Wise of 1861 was a treaty entered into between the United States and six chiefs of the Southern Cheyenne and four of the Southern Arapaho Indian tribes. A significant proportion of Cheyennes opposed this treaty on the grounds that only a minority of Cheyenne chiefs had signed, and without the consent or approval of the rest of the tribe. Different responses to the treaty became a source of conflict between whites and Indians, leading to the Colorado War of 1864, including the Sand Creek Massacre.

The Council of Forty-four is one of the two central institutions of traditional Cheyenne native American tribal governance, the other being the military societies such as the Dog Soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Niwot</span> Arapho leader

Chief Niwot or Left Hand(-ed) was a Southern Arapaho chief, diplomat, and interpreter who negotiated for peace between white settlers and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush and Colorado War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Raven (Arapaho leader)</span> Southern Arapaho chief

Little Raven, also known as Hosa, was from about 1855 until his death in 1889 a principal chief of the Southern Arapaho Indians. He negotiated peace between the Southern Arapaho and Cheyenne and the Comanche, Kiowa, and Plains Apache. He also secured rights to the Cheyenne-Arapaho Reservation in Indian Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief Black Coal</span>

Wo’óoseinee’, known commonly as Black Coal, (c.1840-1893) was a prominent leader of the Northern Arapaho people during the latter half of the 19th Century. Serving as an intermediary between the Northern Arapaho and the United States, he helped lead the transition from free-roaming life and armed resistance to American expansion, to alliance and eventual settlement alongside the Eastern Shoshone at today's Wind River Indian Reservation.

Black Bear was an Arapaho leader into the 1860s when the Northern Arapaho, like other Native American tribes, were prevented from ranging through their traditional hunting grounds due to settlement by European-Americans who came west during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Conflicts erupted over land and trails used by settlers and miners. A watershed event was the Sand Creek massacre of 1864. This led to the Northern Arapaho joining with other tribes to prevent settlement in their traditional lands. In 1865, Black Bear's village was attacked during the Battle of the Tongue River. People died, lodges were set on fire, and food was ruined, all of which made it difficult for them to survive as a unit. He died during an ambush by white settlers on April 8, 1870, in the Wild Wind Valley of present-day Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friday (Arapaho chief)</span> Chief and interpreter of Northern Arapaho

Friday (Arapaho: Teenokuhu or Warshinun, also known as Friday Fitzpatrick, was an Arapaho leader and interpreter in the mid to late 1800s. When he was around the age of eight, he was separated from his band and was taken in by a white trapper. During the next seven years, he was schooled in St. Louis, Missouri and went on trapping expeditions with his informally adopted father, Thomas Fitzpatrick. After he was recognized by his mother during an encounter with the Arapaho, he returned to the tribe.

Margaret Poisal was "the only woman who was an official witness, interpreter, and consultant at many meetings and treaty councils held along or in close proximity to the Santa Fe Trail." The daughter of French Canadian trapper John Poisal and Arapaho Snake Woman, Poisal was educated at a convent school. She married Thomas Fitzpatrick, an Indian agent, and they worked together negotiating peace between Native American tribes and the United States government. After Fitzpatrick died, Poisal continued to work as an interpreter and peacemaker.

References

  1. 1 2 Fowler 1982, pp. 32–33.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Anderson, Jeffrey D. (2003-01-01). One Hundred Years of Old Man Sage: An Arapaho Life. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 28–30. ISBN   978-0-8032-1061-5.
  3. ↑ Fowler 1989, p. 44.
  4. 1 2 3 Fowler 1982, p. 33.
  5. 1 2 Fowler 1982, p. 32.
  6. ↑ Fowler 1989, p. 46.
  7. ↑ Fowler 1982, p. 239.
  8. ↑ Fowler 1982, pp. 312–313.
  9. ↑ Fowler 1982, p. 41.
  10. ↑ Fowler 1982, p. 42.
  11. 1 2 Fowler 1982, p. 39.
  12. ↑ Trenholm 1970, p. 166.
  13. ↑ "Report of the John Evans Study Committee" (PDF). Northwestern University. May 2014. p. 59.
  14. ↑ Trenholm 1970, pp. 166, 168, 170.
  15. ↑ Trenholm 1970, p. 170.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.