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.
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 - not only would he act 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.
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 a 1935 article documenting his travels to Paris, France, 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. He continued to travel with the Circus and Wild West circuit until 1935, when records of him in route books and the US Census seem to cease.
Unfortunately, it is unclear where Samuel Lone Bear's story ends. Few records remain of his personal life, and some are deeply unhappy. He married a woman named Ella Lone Bear some time in the early 1910s. They have a son in 1919 and name him Oliver Lone Bear, after the anglicized forename name adopted by Samuel's father. At least three other sons and a daughter follow, called Peter, Roy, John, and Annie. Later census records show Samuel living alone on a reservation in Nebraska. Some disturbing census notes in 1929 suggest that Ella has relocated. Tragically, the census-taker also notes that Oliver is missing and presumed deceased.
Samuel Lone Bear is often considered to be one of the most famous and respected performers of the Buffalo Bill Wild West show, and it seems especially unfair for his narrative to end this way. His story is one of survival, endurance, and a balance between cultural preservation and survival within a system of oppression. Although the conclusion of his story remains unknown, his piece in a larger narrative of the culture of the Lakota Sioux persists.
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.
New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, "Sam Lone Bear,"1909, 1925-1957
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.
United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914. "Lone Bear," 06 January 1878, via FamilySearch Database. Online.
"United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940," database, FamilySearch
Everett Press (Everett, Pennsylvania), "Indians Block Traffic, Provide Thrill," 02 Aug 1935 via Newspapers.com
Witmer, Linda F. (1993). The Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1879–1918. Carlisle PA: Cumberland County Historical Society.