Samuel Lone Bear
Born between 1878 and 1881, Samuel Lone Bear's life story exists in the liminal space between cultural genocide and perseverance. Samuel Lone Bear's earliest records come from his enrollment in the Carlisle Indian School, which he attended for five years from 1892 to 1897. The Carlisle Indian school was part of a larger project of attempted white assimilation enacted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Beginning in 1891, children were forcibly taken from their families without parental consent and forced to forego native dress and cultural practices in favor of "civilized" (white) culture. Henry Pratt, founder of the Carlisle School, made clear the aims of the project when he stated: "The children would be hostages for the good behavior of the people" (Witmer, 13). Inarguably, the Carlisle School was the site of horrific abuse and a clear project of cultural genocide.
Samuel Lone Bear's records list him as being eleven years old in 1892, though he was likely somewhat older, as census records typically record his birth year as 1879. In spite of this discrepancy in birth years, we can be sure this card represents the same Samuel Lone Bear: in both records, where the name Samuel's father is recorded, the word "policeman" is also recorded. Samuel Lone Bear's father was enrolled with the U.S. Armed Forces as an "Indian Scout," or a policeman tasked by the Pine Ridge Agency with maintaining order on the reservation. Other childrens' records do not list a parental occupation, perhaps suggesting that Samuel Lone Bear acquired some protection or status in being the son of an Indian Scout working to maintain order. U.S military records show that Lone Bear (Samuel's father) registered as a scout in 1878, right around the time of the forced relocation of the Lakota from Wyoming to South Dakota, and near the time of Samuel's birth. Though the position required him to align himself with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, by registering as a scout, Lone Bear likely ensured his family's safety during a perilous time of forced relocation.
Samuel Lone Bear would go on to follow in his father's footsteps in more ways than one - Sam would act not only as a policeman of the Pine Ridge Agency, but also as the Chief of Police of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. The route book "Official Souvenir Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World" from 1896 lists Chief Lone Bear as a performer, meaning that Samuel's father most likely preceded him as a Wild West show performer, as well as an Indian Scout.
Ironically, the Carlisle Indian School was also a popular recruiting pipeline for the "Oskate Wicasa" meaning, "one who performs" (Boorn,1). Showrunners, including Pawnee Bill, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Adam Forepaugh, would recruit native performers to go "wild westing," by traveling the circus and wild west show routes. The Bureau of Indian Affairs allowed this recruitment because in many ways, the Wild West show supported their propaganda for white assimilation and against native "savagery." In spite of this, the show provided the opportunity for many families to travel together and practice their culture onstage (Boorn, 101-3). Although the Wild West Show was undoubtedly exploitative, and often relied on racist caricature for entertainment, it was in some ways preferable to life in a boarding school or on a reservation. Buffalo Bill in particular prided himself on authentically representing the culture of the Lakota Sioux, and their performance onstage often provided an opportunity for intentionally subversive and ironic commentary in front of a mostly white audience. In many ways, "wild westing" was a chance to rebel against the white assimilationist project of the Indian Boarding School system.
As a Wild West Show performer, Samuel Lone Bear was renowned for his abilities as a polyglot, and he often served as an interpreter for the Wild West Show. In this 1935 article, Lone Bear is quoted as speaking English, French, and German (and, presumably, Lakota) after traveling for so many decades with Buffalo Bill and other Circus and Wild West Shows.
Being a member of the Wild West show was perilous, however much it provided an opportunity to travel and gain new experiences. on April 7th 1904, a horrible train wreck outside of Chicago left many Native performers with the Wild West show injured or deceased. Samuel Lone Bear was erroneously reported dead by multiple news outlets, but was later found to have survived in spite of a serious head injury.
Citations
Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center. "Descriptive Statement of Pupils from Pine Ridge Agency, February 1892," February 27th, 1892, Waidner-Spahr Library, Dickinson College, via the National Archives and Records Administration. Online.
Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center. "Samuel Lone Bear Student Information Card," 1892-1897, Waidner-Spahr Library, Dickinson College, via the National Archives and Records Administration. Online.
Everett Press (Everett, Pennsylvania), "Indians Block Traffic, Provide Thrill," 02 Aug 1935 via Newspapers.com
Pratt, Richard Henry (1979) [1908].The Indian Industrial School - Carlisle, Pennsylvania - Its origins, purposes, progress, and the difficulties surmounted. Carlisle, PA: Cumberland County Historical Society.
Witmer, Linda F. (1993). The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1879–1918. Carlisle PA: Cumberland County Historical Society.