Joseph Bigmane

Joseph was a Sioux man of the Hunkpapa band of the Lakota Oyate

Biography
Joseph Big Mane was born about 1883 in North Dakota probably near Fort Yates. He was a Sioux man from the Standing Rock Reservation.

"The Standing Rock Reservation lies across the border between North and South Dakota, and is inhabited by ethnic "Hunkpapa and Sihasapa bands of Lakota Oyate and the Ihunktuwona and Pabaksa bands of the Dakota Oyate," as well as the Hunkpatina Dakota."

He was incarcerated by the Reservation Agency at Fort Yates on May 6 or 12, 1906, and diagnosed with epilepsy, grand mal, revised in 1910 by Dr. H. Hummer to epileptic psychosis, deteriorating.

He died May 20 1916 at the age of 30 and was buried in the asylum's Hiawatha Cemetery, Row 1 Plot 90. (Curator Note: this fact is curious, why was he buried in the asylum cemetery when he came from a large family with many members still alive and residing on the Standing Rock Reservation within a reasonably short travel distance? Why was his body not returned to his home?)

His profile is part of the The Canton Asylum One Place Study.

Research Notes
-Questions on the 1907 source: 1) why the space between Joseph and his prior sibling, 2) the mother's name is "Whiteboulder", who is that? and 3) note the list of children Margaret, Rosa, Minnie, David, Andrew, Alica, and Joseph
-Questions on the 1910 source: 1) Joseph is shown at home with his mother but we know from other sources that he was in the Canton Asylum as early as 1906, and 2) note the list of children Joseph, Andrew, David, Minnie, Rosie, and Thomas
-Joseph's age: 20 in the 1907 census, and 22 in the 1910 census would indicate he was born in 1887 between May 18 and June 30-I've not yet found census records for the years 1910-1916 so I cannot confirm with the Canton census records Joseph's death in 1916. Date of death May 20, 1916, reported by Carla Joinson in Vanished in Hiawatha.
-Joseph is not listed as being in school in 1917 Canton records
-(Curator Note: It's hard to know why there are census reports with spaces between the names if not to set them apart for some reason. The persons were likely considered part of the family but living elsewhere, which would support the position that Joseph was at Canton in 1910 and 1912 even though he was listed on a local census. In other situations, where this occurred with other people, they were specifically noted as being somewhere else, specifically at Canton. It is also possible that the information from Carla Joinson is inaccurate, and Joseph was admitted to Canton at a date later than 1906.)
-FamilySearch person at https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:L48M-6FL
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Sources

1907 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGTL-NZL3 : Wed Oct 04 23:27:43 UTC 2023), Entry for Apehantanka, pg, 371/578, line 1601, census of the Sioux, Standing Rock Agency, North Dakota

1910 May 18 - "United States Census, 1910", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPXL-QQW : Fri Oct 06 13:14:23 UTC 2023), Entry for Mrs, Mrs Bigmane and Joseph Bigmane, 1910, pg, 71/1141, line 30, DeRochbraine School District and Township, Corson County, South Dakota.

1910 Jul 2 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:688C-DLXQ : Thu Oct 05 22:54:40 UTC 2023), Entry for Joseph Bigmane, 1910, pg, 504-505/522, line 2, 1910 census for the Asylum for Insane Indians, Canton, SD

1910 Aug 4 - Camp Verde School: 1910-27; Canton Insane Asylum: 1910-22, Series: Superintendents' Annual Narrative and Statistical Reports, Record Group 75: Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20408 @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/155854182?objectPage=675, Table 7. line 68, annual report for the fiscal year 1910, Hummer

1912 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP3T-2L29 : Thu Oct 05 01:17:45 UTC 2023), Entry for Joseph, pg 88/730, line 1400, census of the Sioux, Standing Rock Agency, ND (Joseph is 25!)

1916 May 20 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14493964/joseph-big_name: accessed 30 November 2023), memorial page for Joseph Big Name (unknown–20 May 1916), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14493964, citing Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, USA; Maintained by Graveaddiction (contributor 46528400). (Curator Note: name is misspelled!)

Hilton, M. (Ed.). (2023, July 10). Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians Historical Marker. Historical Marker. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=183486 Photo by Ruth VanSteenwyk, July 10, 2023, courtesy of HMdb.org @ https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=183486

Dan-Ach-Onginiwa 3-29-16 · Joseph Bignane 5-20-16 · Walkkas 1-21-17
(Curator Note: the misspelling of the surname is on the plaque!)