Medicine Bear
Chief Medicine Bear (Mato Wakan) was the leading Chief of the Pabaska (Cut Head) Band of the Upper Yanktonai Tribe, who together with the Hunkpati Lower Yanktonai made up the Ihanktowanna Nation. They were considered a separate nation from the Ihanktowanna Nation because the tribe was so large. Together they were considered one campfire of the Seven Council Fires of the Great Sioux Nation, a loose confederation of bands and tribes or nations within a nation.
In 1853-54 during a fight against the Crow, Medicine Bear was shot through the body, but managed to kill the one who shot him as well as his companion. His wound was very severe and by 1865 it had not fully healed.
By the 1880s, Medicine Bear had seen that he needed to better the conditions on the reservation. He was asked by the agent where he wanted his permanent camp to be. Mato Wakan told the agent that he wanted to live by the river, so if there was no game his people would always be able to fish. This site is now the community of Fort Kipp. Mato Wakan was the principal Sioux signator of the 1886-1887 treaty, which led to the establishment of the Fort Peck Reservation in 1888.
His wives include the granddaughters of Crazy Bear: Iron Cradle, Small Earth, and Turtle door. There is also record of a wife named Her Bad Cane.
Medicine Bear kept a winter count from 1823 to 1917.[1] Crazy Bear
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Wind, Dakota (2015-08-29). "The First Scout: Ocheti Shakowin History & Culture: The Medicine Bear Winter Count". The First Scout. Retrieved 2024-03-09.