A victim of its own success: The story of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian fair, 1910-13

American Indian Culture and Research Journal

Volumn 30, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 35-61

  Clough, Josh ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33845807028     PISSN: 01616463     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.17953/aicr.30.2.15h61p0g7h613nnk     Document Type: Review

References (123)

1. "Indian Fairs," United States Indian Service Bulletin, no. 1, 31 December 1909, in Chilocco Fair file, Oklahoma Historical Society (hereafter OHS), Oklahoma City, OK.
2. L. G. Moses, Wild West Shows and the Images of American Indians, 1883-1933 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1999), 212.
3. For information about Native rodeos in conjunction with the Crow Fair and other fairs, see Allison Fuss Mellis, Riding Buffaloes and Broncos: Rodeo and Native Traditions in the Northern Great Plains (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 2003).
4. For information on Native dancing at fairs, see Clyde Ellis, A Dancing People: Powwow Culture on the Southern Plains (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2003).
5. For an excellent article on early Indian fairs in what would become the state of Oklahoma see Andrew Denson, "Muskogee's Indian International Fairs: Tribal Autonomy and the Indian Image in the Late Nineteenth Century," Western Historical Quarterly (Autumn 2003): 325-15.
6. Frederick Hoxie, Parading through History: The Making of the Crow Nation in America, 1805-1935 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 306-7.
7. The fair switched locations so as to keep Indians on both sides of the South Canadian River happy. Those living on the east side of the river had to cross over to get to Weatherford, while those living on the west side had to cross over to get to Watonga. At this time, there were no bridges spanning the South Canadian in Cheyenne-Arapaho country, which made the crossing a bit of an adventure, especially after heavy rains.
8. Weatherford Democrat, 18 August 1910, 1.
9. Intermediary chiefs refer to those individuals recognized by both their tribal constituents and federal agents as leaders based on their ability to provide services to the former and to aid the latter in implementing Indian Affairs policies (or at least appear to be helping to implement bureau policies).
10. Loretta Fowler, Shared Symbols, Contested Meanings: Gros Ventre Culture and History, 1778-1985 (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1987), 73-74.
11. Donald J. Berthrong, "Legacies of the Dawes Act: Bureaucrats and Land Thieves at the Cheyenne-Arapaho Agencies of Oklahoma," Arizona and the West (Winter 1979): 337.
12. Arizona and the West Ibid., 338.
13. Council between Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders with W. W. Scott, new agent replacing Frederick E. Farrell, 19 June 1914, (Council Meetings of the Major American Indian Tribes, 1907-1971), University Publications of America, Inc., reel 13, series I.
14. Donald J. Berthrong, The Cheyenne and Arapaho Ordeal (Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1976), 231.
15. Council between Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders and W. W. Scott, new agent replacing Frederick E. Farrell, 19 June 1914 (Council Meetings of the Major American Indian Tribes, 1907-1971), University Publications of America, Inc., reel 13, series I.
16. Council between Cheyenne and Arapaho leaders and Supervisor Brown at the Cheyenne and Arapaho School, Darlington, OK, 24 April 1914 (Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency Records-Fairs [hereafter CAA-Fairs], OHS, reel 45).
17. Colony Courier, 7 August 1913, 3.
18. Colony Courier, 10 August 1911, 6.
19. Ibid.
20. "Big Jake's Crossing," Chronicles of Oklahoma 38 (Spring 1960): 50. The crossing was located twenty miles southwest of Weatherford near the town of Cloud Chief.
21. Colony Courier, 30 June 1910, 6;
22. Colony Courier, 7 July 1910, 6;
23. Colony Courier, 14 July 1910, 6;
24. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Carrier Pigeon (hereafter Carrier Pigeon), 15 August 1910, 1-2. Edited by Darlington Agent William B. Freer, the Carrier Pigeon began publication in 1910 and ceased when Freer left the agency in 1912.
25. Carrier Pigeon, 15 August 1910, 1-2.
26. Ibid.
27. Loretta Fowler, Tribal Sovereignty and the Historical Imagination: Cheyenne-Arapaho Politics (Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2002), 72-75.
28. Walonga Republican, 4 June 1913, 1. As a rule, the president and secretary/treasurer positions went to a Cheyenne, while the vice presidency went to an Arapaho.
29. Walonga Republican, Ibid., 5 October 1911, 4.
30. Anglo business owners in Watonga and Weatherford held a substantial financial stake in the fair. Had Indians boycotted the event, it would have been disastrous as well as embarrassing. Indians had much less to lose, though they would have missed out on prize money and an end-of-the-summer gathering.
31. Carrier Pigeon, 1 June 1911, 2-3.
32. Byron E. White to William B. Freer, 23 May 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
33. William B. Freer to George M. Norris, Chairman of Indian Fair Committee, Weatherford, 31 May 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
34. 1910 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, Chilocco Indians School-Fairs, OHS, folder 8/1909-8/1920.
35. Watonga Republican, 7 August 1911, 4;
36. 1912 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, Kaw Indian Agency Collection, Western History Collections (hereafter WHC), Norman, OK, box 30, folder 4; 1913 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
37. Walter F. Dickens to William B. Freer, 31 May 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
38. Weatherford Democrat, 1 September 1911, 2.
39. Fred S. Barde Collection, OHS, box 14, folder 7.
40. Ibid.
41. Undated list of sham battle participants, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
42. Carrier Pigeon 15 May 1912, 1;
43. Receipt showing payment to Tom Lightfoot, 14 September 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
44. Freer to Small, 4 November 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
45. William B. Freer to Superintendents White, Dunn, and Dickens, 3 June 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47;
46. List of Performers for Play, undated, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
47. Carrier Pigeon, 1 October 1911, 3.
48. William B. Freer to Walter F. Dickens, 3 January 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
49. Undated list of Cheyenne and Arapaho dancers, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
50. Watonga Republican, 19 September 1912, 1. Adopted from the Northern Arapaho in Wyoming, the Crow Dance was a variation of the Omaha Dance that had developed around the Ghost Dance in the 1890s. It had no known connection with altering weather patterns. It is likely Washee knew it was going to rain and, taking advantage of ignorant Anglos who thought all Indian dances were "rain dances," simply made up the story.
51. Ibid.
52. 1910 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, Chilocco Indians School-Fairs, OHS, folder 8/1909-8/1920; Watonga Republican, 7 August 1911, 4;
53. 1912 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, Kaw Indian Agency Collection, WHC, box 30, folder 4;
54. 1913 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
55. Carrier Pigeon, 1 October 1911, 2.
56. Fred S. Barde Collection, OHS, box 14, folder 7.
57. Dickens to Freer, 15 February 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47;
58. Mary J. Freeman to Freer, 28 September 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
59. Freer to Dickens, 28 January 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
60. George A. Hoyo request for funds, 8 August 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47;
61. Freer to Hoyo, 9 August 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
62. Colony Courier, 24 August 1911, 6.
63. Cleaver Warden to Freer, 5 August 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47;
64. Freer to Warden, 6 August 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
65. Colony Courier, 1 September 1910, 6.
66. Calumet Chieftain, 22 September 1911, 4.
67. Ibid.
68. Carrier Pigeon, 15 April 1911, 1.
69. Watonga Republican, 17 August 1911, 4.
70. 1913 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Premium List, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
71. Indian School Journal (March 1913): 308.
72. 1910 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, Chilocco Indians School-Fairs, OHS, folder 8/1909-8/1920;
73. Watonga Republican, 7 August 1911, 4;
74. 1912 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, Kaw Indian Agency Collection, WHC, box 30, folder 4;
75. 1913 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Program, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
76. Colony Courier, 1 September 1910, 6.
77. Colony Courier, Ibid., 19 September 1913, 4.
78. Walter G. West to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 6 October 1913, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
79. Fred S. Barde Collection, OHS, box 14, folder 7.
80. Undated check stubs from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indian Fair Association, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 46; statement of expenditures under various heads of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Fair Association, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 46. Usually these odd jobs paid $1.00 to $1.50 per day.
81. Ibid.; undated list of sham battle participants, singers, and dancers, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
82. Undated check stub from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Fair Association, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
83. Byron E. White to Superintendents Freer, Dickens, and Dunn, 14 August 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
84. William B. Freer to John P. Logan, 4 September 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47;
85. Logan to Freer, 8 October 1910, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 46.
86. Albert Red Nose to William B. Freer, 16 August 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
87. Freer to Red Nose, 19 August 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
88. Colony Courier, 13 June 1912, 6.
89. Colony Courier, Ibid., 12 September 1913, 3.
90. Colony Courier, Ibid., 9 October 1913, 4.
91. William B. Freer to J. R. Eddy, 4 August 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
92. Mary J. Freeman to William B. Freer, 13 May 1911, CAA-Field Matrons, OHS, reel 81. Without a letter from Freer, White Bird may not have been permitted to enter the Tongue River Reservation in Montana. At this time, Eddy suspected Southern Cheyenne of transporting mescal (it was actually peyote) to their northern relatives. This was why White Bird explicitly told Freer to mention in the introduction letter that he was "no mescal man."
93. William B. Freer to Mary J. Freeman, 25 May 1911, CAA-Field Matrons, OHS, reel 81.
94. Carrier Pigeon, 1 September 1911, 1.
95. Dickens to Freer, 12 October 1910, CAA-Fairs, OHS reel 46.
96. Watonga Republican, 14 September 1911, 1.
97. Watonga Republican, Ibid., 7 September 1911, 1.
98. Fred S. Barde Collection, OHS, box 14, folder 7.
99. Colony Courier, 24 August 1911, 6.
100. Fred S. Barde Collection, OHS, box 14, folder 7.
101. Weatherford Booster, 11 September 1913, 1.
102. Colony Courier, 2 October 1913, 4.
103. Colony Courier, Ibid., 4.
104. Weatherford Booster, 18 September 1913, 1.
105. Robert M. Kvasnicka and Herman J. Viola, eds., The Commissioners of Indian Affairs, 1824-1977 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1979), 243;
106. L. G. Moses, Wild West Shows and the Images of American Indians, 1883-1933 (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996), 212-18.
107. "Circular to Superintendents," Indian School Journal (June 1914): 312. The commissioner suggested that these features be replaced with "slow mule races" or "athletic contests involving feats of strength and skill." Needless to say, many Indians did not buy into Sells's vision of Native fairs and chose instead to dance and race their horses at Anglo fairs (for money) or on private property.
108. Dickens was transferred to Red Lake, MN, Freer was promoted to Supervisor of Indian Schools in Oklahoma, and White retired.
109. Walter G. West to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 6 October 1913, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
110. Farrell to Sells, 13 November 1913; CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
111. Willis E. Dunn to Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 17 November 1913, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
112. Ibid.
113. Dickens to Freer, 8 June 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47;
114. Carrier Pigeon, 5 May 1912, 1;
115. Statement of Cheyenne and Arapaho Fair Association for month ended 30 September 1913, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 48.
116. Ibid.
117. Colony Courier, 2 October 1913, 4.
118. Transcript of council between Supervisor Brown and the Cheyenne and Arapaho, 24 April 1914, CAA-Chiefs, OHS, reel 45.
119. Charles W. Edmister to Dickens, 1 November 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
120. Dunn to West, 2 October 1912, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
121. Ebenezer Kingsley to Dickens, 4 October 1911, CAA-Fairs, OHS, reel 47.
122. Transcript of council between Supervisor Brown and the Cheyenne and Arapaho, 24 April 1914, CAA-Chiefs, OHS, reel 45.
123. Watonga Herald, 7 September 1911, 1.