Luther Standing Bear
Luther Standing Bear was a Sioux Indian, and the son of a chief, who had heard of the Indian School being set up in Carlisle. So, he made his way to Carlisle only to find there was nobody there as Richard Pratt, the director, was away trying to recruit Indians for the school. He was thereby the first pupil at Carlisle and he became a prized pupil. When the Wanamakers requested 2 Indians to come and work at their store in center-city Philadelphia, he was the first choice.
While he was working at Wanamakers he lived in the Educational Home. There he witnessed the first efforts of Mary McHenry Cox to bring Indian boys to the Lincoln Institution school. At the weekends he would join with the other Indians at the Home in their singing and music-making.
Luther wanted to stay on at Wanamakers but not to live at the Educational Home. He could not find anyone who was willing to provide board for him in Philadelphia. In the end he returned to Carlisle and then his Reservation, where he started his career, which included being part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and acting in movies.
References and Notes
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Standing_Bear
- My People, the Sioux by Luther Standing Bear, 1928. Reprinted by Acadia Press, 2017