Struck by the Ree
Encyclopedia
Struck by the Ree
, also known as Strikes the Ree, (ca. 1804-1888) was a chief of the Native American
Yankton Sioux tribe.
was held for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
at Calumet Bluff/Gavins Point (near present-day Yankton, South Dakota
) that included the "Shunka" sacred dog feast ceremony. During the festivities, the explorers learned that a boy had just been born, and they asked to see the infant. They wrapped the baby in an American flag, held him up, and proclaimed him as destined to be a great "American". According to the traditions of the Yankton people, that baby boy was Struck by the Ree, who in manhood became a leader among the Yankton, and traveled to Washington DC. For his efforts in promoting peace between whites and Native Americans, he received medals from U.S. Presidents Franklin Pierce
, Ulysses S. Grant
and James Garfield
.
in Minnesota
, Struck by the Ree deployed his warriors to protect innocent white settlers from raiding Indians. In spite of this, his people were expelled from Minnesota after the uprising. In 1865, Struck by the Ree testified at hearings of the Doolittle Commission, which investigated fraud among Indian agents. He reported that agents routinely skimmed goods from stores purchased with Indian annuity money and that Native people were illegally forced to pay for food out of their treaty money, while the agents ate for free. Agents routinely padded their pockets with money that, under treaty agreement, was supposed to purchase supplies for Indians. Struck by the Ree also reported that frontier soldiers routinely coerced sexual favors from Native women. He said, "Before the soldiers came along, we had good health, but, the soldiers go to my squaws, and they want to sleep with them, and the squaws being hungry will sleep with them in order to get something to eat, and will get a bad disease, and then the squaws go to their husbands and give them the bad disease."
. Under the Grant peace policy of 1871-1881, the federal government assigned Indian reservation
s to certain Christian denominations, regardless of the Indian people's wishes. Struck By The Ree opposed this policy and responded to the government with these words: “My opposition to your plans is a sincere and conscientious duty to the Great Spirit, which I desire to discharge. I made up my mind on this subject twenty-two years ago. I wish to put the instruction of the youth of my tribe into the hands of the Blackrobes; I consider them alone the depositories of the ancient and true faith of Jesus Christ, and we are free to hear and follow them...Since my first talk with the Blackrobes I have no other thought but to embrace the ancient religion of Jesus Christ, if I can make myself worthy. My mind is made up.”
's chair" before commencing with services. He died in 1888.
Struck by the Ree has living descendants, among them Dr. Leonard Bruguier, a noted Native American ethnologist
and educator as well as Paul LaRoche (and his family) of noted Rock Opera band Brulé, he is a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.
Ree
Ree or REE may have one of the following meanings.The word Ree is a name of animal that is extinct and live in northern Brasilia.*Lough Ree, an Irish lake...
, also known as Strikes the Ree, (ca. 1804-1888) was a chief of the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Yankton Sioux tribe.
Birth
In 1804, a great pow-wowPow-wow
A pow-wow is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning "spiritual leader". A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American...
was held for the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
at Calumet Bluff/Gavins Point (near present-day Yankton, South Dakota
Yankton, South Dakota
Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota Native Americans...
) that included the "Shunka" sacred dog feast ceremony. During the festivities, the explorers learned that a boy had just been born, and they asked to see the infant. They wrapped the baby in an American flag, held him up, and proclaimed him as destined to be a great "American". According to the traditions of the Yankton people, that baby boy was Struck by the Ree, who in manhood became a leader among the Yankton, and traveled to Washington DC. For his efforts in promoting peace between whites and Native Americans, he received medals from U.S. Presidents Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
, Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
and James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
.
Dakota War of 1862
In 1862, during the Dakota U.S. WarDakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Struck by the Ree deployed his warriors to protect innocent white settlers from raiding Indians. In spite of this, his people were expelled from Minnesota after the uprising. In 1865, Struck by the Ree testified at hearings of the Doolittle Commission, which investigated fraud among Indian agents. He reported that agents routinely skimmed goods from stores purchased with Indian annuity money and that Native people were illegally forced to pay for food out of their treaty money, while the agents ate for free. Agents routinely padded their pockets with money that, under treaty agreement, was supposed to purchase supplies for Indians. Struck by the Ree also reported that frontier soldiers routinely coerced sexual favors from Native women. He said, "Before the soldiers came along, we had good health, but, the soldiers go to my squaws, and they want to sleep with them, and the squaws being hungry will sleep with them in order to get something to eat, and will get a bad disease, and then the squaws go to their husbands and give them the bad disease."
Grant Peace Policy of 1871-1881
Struck by the Ree was a devout ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
. Under the Grant peace policy of 1871-1881, the federal government assigned Indian reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
s to certain Christian denominations, regardless of the Indian people's wishes. Struck By The Ree opposed this policy and responded to the government with these words: “My opposition to your plans is a sincere and conscientious duty to the Great Spirit, which I desire to discharge. I made up my mind on this subject twenty-two years ago. I wish to put the instruction of the youth of my tribe into the hands of the Blackrobes; I consider them alone the depositories of the ancient and true faith of Jesus Christ, and we are free to hear and follow them...Since my first talk with the Blackrobes I have no other thought but to embrace the ancient religion of Jesus Christ, if I can make myself worthy. My mind is made up.”
Old age and death
As an elder, he walked with a cane, and the congregation would respectfully wait for the old chief to enter the church and take his place in the "bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
's chair" before commencing with services. He died in 1888.
Struck by the Ree has living descendants, among them Dr. Leonard Bruguier, a noted Native American ethnologist
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
and educator as well as Paul LaRoche (and his family) of noted Rock Opera band Brulé, he is a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.