Luther Standing Bear
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Luther Standing Bear (1868–1939), also known as Ota Kte (meaning Plenty Kill) or Mochunozhin, was a Native American writer and actor.
He was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to an Oglala Lakota family, and raised in the Sioux tradition. According to American interpretation, he inherited the position of "chief" to the Lakota peoples. In the Lakota vernacular,"wise man" or "leader" or "speaker of the people" is probably a nearer meaning since chief has more of a "ruler" connotation, and it is not clear that "chief" is how a Lakota would refer to any of its people. Linguistics is problematic as many words in the Sioux language cannot be easily reduced to what a term might mean in American English. The Sioux languages have always, until recently been confined to the spoken word or oral traditions that can render different meanings according to "how" the word is said or even pronounced. [1] Although Standing Bear achieved many successes by American standards, including becoming a member of the Actor's Guild of Hollywood, the plight of his people remained foremost in his mind. The Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 was particularly disturbing to him.[2]
Standing Bear was educated at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an Indian Boarding School in Pennsylvania, where their first tactic was to separate the Indians from their tribes by allowing them to choose a new name more congenial to American standards. Thus, Plenty Kill became Luther Standing Bear.He was among one of the first groups to attend an "Indian" school. After graduating, he operated a dry goods store at the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota until becoming a dancer and horseback rider for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. From the 1910s to the 1930s, he starred in Western films, including White Oak and Cyclone of the Saddle.
Standing Bear published books during his lifetime to educate the public about Native American culture and government policies toward his people. These included My People the Sioux (1928), Land of the Spotted Eagle (1933), and Stories of the Sioux (1934). In 1939, he died of the flu while on the set of the film Union Pacific. He is buried in Los Angeles, California.
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[edit] Notes
- ^ Dakota Decolonization and the Eli Taylor Narratives by Waziyatawin Angela Wilson with translations from the Dakota text by Wahpetunwin Carolyn Schommer published in 2005 by U of Nebraska Press Oral Tradition
- ^ American philosophies:An Anthology edited by Leonard Harris, Scott L. Pratt, and Anne S. Waters, What the Indian Means to America by Luther Standing Bear page 420
[edit] External links
- Luther Standing Bear at the Literary Encyclopedia.
- Luther Standing Bear at the Native American Authors Project.
- Luther Standing Bear at IMDB.com
- Luther Standing Bear at Find A Grave
