Matjowakuwa 'Thomas' Chasing Bear

Thomas was a Lakota Sioux man (Standing Rock tribe)

Fort Yates, Long Soldier District, Standing Rock, North Dakota
As a military fort, it was established in 1863 as the Standing Rock Cantonment, intended for the US Army garrison to oversee the Hunkpapa Lakota, the Sihasapa (Blackfeet) Lakota, and the Pabaska Ihanktowana (Cuthead Band of the Upper Yanktonai).

Old photograph of Fort Yates
Holman, Mark. “Old Fort Yates Photograph Can Be Used to Imagine the Old Fort beneath the Modern City.” SITTING BULL COLLEGE LIBRARY, WiX.Com, 2017, https://sittingbullcollege.wixsite.com/website. Accessed 18 Jan. 2024.

Standing Rock Reservation
(Curator Note: note that this reservation straddles the state line between North and South Dakota, coupled with the movement of Indian tribes, explaining why some children are born in the North and some in the South of Dakota.)

Biography:
Thomas Chaing Bear was born c. 1884 to Father Chasing Bear and an unknown mother.

Thomas was admitted to the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians on August 28, 1913, without a diagnosis.

Thomas Chasing Bear died on February 2, 1915, at the Canton Asylum. According to DR. L.L. Culp in his letter to the commissioner of Indians Affairs on February 23, 1934, Thomas is buried in the Canton Hiawatha Cemetery tier 1 plot 92

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

Research Notes:
-John Thunderhawk, John Thundershield, and Thomas Chasing Bear were the same man (his names come from his marriage license to Alma Fly on January 27, 1910.)

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Sources:
1910 Jan 21 - "North and South Dakota, Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, Vital Records, 1880-1942", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6ZCX-XPX1 : Sun Nov 19 07:39:28 UTC 2023), Entry for John Thundershield and Chase The Bear, 27 Jan 1910, pg. 319/502, pg. 105, Marriage License, Standing Rock Agency, ND dated January 21, 1910/Return of Marriage Little Eagle, SD, dated January 27, 1910

1915 Feb 2 - "South Dakota, Grave Registration Records, 1940-1941", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:CYZL-R16Z : Fri Dec 15 11:23:45 UTC 2023), Entry for Thomas Chasing Bear
no image

1915 Feb 2 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14493956/thomas-chasing_bear: accessed 19 January 2024), memorial page for Thomas Chasing Bear (unknown–2 Feb 1915), Find a Grave Memorial ID 14493956, citing Hiawatha Asylum Cemetery, Canton, Lincoln County, South Dakota, USA; Maintained by Graveaddiction (contributor 46528400).

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

Ne-Bow-O-Sah 12-18-14 · Thomas Chasing Bear 2-2-15 · Dan-Ach-Onginiwa 3-29-16
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(Curator Note: the following sources are available on Ancestry.com which I do not have access to verify. They are provided here for context and are available for those who have access to Ancestry.com to use)

Name Thomas Chasingbear
Gender Male
Residence Age 28
Record Type Census
Birth Date abt 1883
Residence Date 1 Jul 1911
Residence Place North Dakota
Tribe Sioux
Agency Standing Rock Agency
Last Census Number 1429
Previous Census Number 1471
Household Members (Name) Age Relationship
Thomas Chasingbear 28
Alma Chasingbear 43Wife
Samuel Fly9Stepson (Step Son)
Regina Fly12Stepdaughter (Step Daughter)
Felix Fly17Stepson (Step Son)
Felix Chasingbear Son
https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/5388567?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a224...