Plains Indian Studies - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

88 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY
prominent headman (Fort Belknap Journal,
1874-1879). In 1880, Agent Lincoln (NA, 1880)
mentioned Running Fisher as one of the Gros
Ventre "chiefs," but after Lincoln appointed
Running Fisher captain of the Indian police in
1881, Fisher is identified by the agent as "head
chief" (U.S. Senate, 1883).
Lame Bull also was a prominent warrior and
an ex-Keeper of the Sacred Flat Pipe. He was
widely recognized as a man of "good reputation,"
one selected to assist a newly formed age set, one
who interceded in quarrels to prevent violence,
and one who gave horses to families in need
(Flannery, 1953, passim).
In communications with the Indian Office,
Agent Lincoln consistently represented Running
Fisher as the tribal (intermediary) chief; yet, in
councils in which all the Gros Ventres participated,
Lame Bull is acknowledged by the Gros
Ventres (including Running Fisher) as head chief
For example, in 1886 when an inspector was sent
from Washington to investigate conditions at Fort
Belknap Reservation, Lame Bull and Running
Fisher spoke on behalf of the tribe. Lame Bull
was identified in the tribal council as intermediary
chief and Running Fisher as captain of police;
yet, in the subsequent report to the Commissioner,
the inspector (NA, 1886) identifies Running
Fisher as "head chief" and makes no mention
of Lame Bull. On 12 August of the following
year. Agent Fields and the agent for the Bloods
arranged a peace council between the Bloods,
and the Gros Ventres and Assiniboines of Fort
Belknap. Lame Bull was acknowledged as "chief
of the Gros Ventres." He stated, "All the young
men obey me . . . . " Jerry Running Fisher also
spoke: "I talk for the Indian Police. The chiefs
will say something afterwards" (NA, 1887). Both
Lame Bull and Running Fisher agreed that the
tribe wanted to learn to farm and raise stock and
to educate their children, and both men expressed
willingness to cease horse raiding. Their rivalry
appears to have been personal in nature.
In the 1890s, the United States began to pressure
the tribes at Fort Belknap to cede part of the
Little Rockies, an area where trespassing miners
were extracting gold. In 1894, the agent held a
council with Gros Ventre and Assiniboine headmen
and they unanimously decided not to cede
the lands and to ask Agent Kelley to eject the
miners. The tribes expressed the desire to learn to
operate the mines themselves (Kelley, 1894:182).
In view of the tribes' opposition to ceding the
mining area, a delegation from Fort Belknap was
invited to Washington to discuss the matter with
Commissioner Browning. Running Fisher, Otter
Robe, Sleeping Bear, and Sitting High represented
the Gros Ventres. They voiced their anxiety
about the proposed cession and about economic
conditions at Fort Belknap. Federal officials
apparently convinced the delegates that they
would receive more aid to subsistence if they were
agreeable to the cession, because in October 1895
three of the four delegates agreed to cede the
mountain area (NA, 1894a, 1894b).
At the cession of 5-9 October 1895, the conflict
between Running Fisher and Lame Bull came to
a head. Lame Bull and his followers opposed
giving up part of the Little Rockies, while Running
Fisher's group agreed to the cession. During
the proceedings, 64-year-old Lame Bull exclaimed,
"Look at my hair; it is gray. I say the
same thing as I said before. I don't want to sell."
Then, 48-year-old Running Fisher attempted to
link opposition to the cession with immaturity:
"All the old people and these people that have
good sense are willing to let the reservation go,
but them young fellows are like children playing;
they don't know what they are talking about." In
point of fact, the difference of opinion did not
correlate with age differences. What is particularly
striking is the way that the speakers inverted
the traditional symbols associated with old age
and youth in order to sway public opinion. Elderly
opponents are portrayed as foolish; youthful
allies are said to be wise. Chaos reigned and the
social friction was traumatic for the Gros Ventres.
File Steel (Lame Bull's brother-in-law) commented,
"My people have said many different
ways, and I don't know which side to go .... I
don't know what to say . . . ." And Sleeping Bear
said in distress, "Indians are talking all different