In the name of people, children, and animals, I write to comfort them. I hope they will never, never ever be in a war. But again, let us reflect on another perspective. We have here at home a war going on. The asphalt jungle is growing and getting quite intensive. Our children are going to be our future leaders. World War II, the Korean Conflict, and other wars -- we fought for these children, and the people. It is sad to see and witness the condition we are in. How will we find the unity and strength to guide our children to the responsibility of leadership?The white man's religion came with the settlers and when President Grants Peace Policy was initiated, but the policy didn't work. It was abandoned. This was another splendid idea failed. The Indians' confusion about Christianity served as another example of the Indians' inability to accept the white man's ways. For hundreds of years the cultures of Native American and non-Indians, have existed side by side. All this time, the non-Indian did not realize the major role the Native American culture and religions play in the lives of the Indian. The Europeans came here saying that they wanted freedom of religion and they got it. They found people here already living under no restrictions, beautiful, sound, and in harmony. They couldn't have that. They wanted to change the whole scenario, so they changed everything, and I mean everything. They changed even the way we think through a form of psychological warfare. They didn't understand tines strength of our culture and our families.
This paper describes the family and culture of the people of the Riverside District and the things that held us together. This is the story mostly about Black Duck's village where I was born and grew up. When I was small, Black Duck was an old man and lived with Bill and Alice Lester. In telling about these things, I am going back to the 1930's. I was a young boy going to school at the Riverside School. I was born in 1924.
Riverside District was a large stable community It was made up of two villages. Southwest of Brockton to Feather Earring's was Black Duck's Village. West of that, to north and close to Poplar was White Deer's Tail's village. Together these made up the Riverside District.
In former times, there was a Riverside School District. With the termination of this district, the community members were forced into the towns of Brockton and Poplar. Most employed people in the Brockton-Riverside district had to commute out of their district. Tribal Housing had a great effect on these people. In the early years, most Indians had log homes near family members on the allotment of a family member or on the allotment of a deceased family member. As the Indian people became accustomed to Tribal Housing, they lost the notion of home ownership and a situation of economic dependence has evolved. These things made the Black Duck Village and the White Deer's Tail Village that we know as the Riverside District disappear. The Riverside District I grew up in is no longer there. It is a part of my memory and that of many other people's memory.
Through these writings, I wish to make it a part of our history. The Families The following families lived in Riverside during the 1930's. I remember them because grandpa, grandma and I visited all these families regularly. Times were getting hard but grandpa and grandma always seemed to have food on the table. We had a farm. Grandpa raised pigs, chickens, ducks, goats, and two milk cows. The cows belonged to grandma and she was the only one who milked them.
I, James Turning Bear, was born in 1924 at Riverside in a shack at my uncle's place. Meanwhile, my father was building a house near his sister's Ida Turning Bear place. My father was getting sick when I was born. It was a hard life for my mother. Father passed in 1928 and my younger brother passed in the same year, so my grandparents took me in and raised me from the time I was two years old. As a premature baby, I was not expected to live but a few days. Somehow I survived. Hard times were gradually working towards the reservation. I remember the beginning of the dust storms. We could see the winds coming from the west, dust rolling, coming. There was nothing to feed the horses. Somehow the goats survived. The nannies were my nourishment, as I lived on goats' milk. The doctor said that was the only kind of milk that I could drink -- so, actually, the nannies raised me.
I woke up one morning and I went outside, and there were millions and millions of huge locusts flying towards the east, as far as I could see, towards the sun--it was scary. Those that fell to the ground were about two to three inches long, and there was that odd smell in the air. It was unbelievable.
When I was seven years old, I went to the day-school at Riverside. It was about one half a mile from our home. Living out in the country, we spoke Indian all the time and that was all I knew. My first day in school was something I will never forget. Of course, other kids did not speak English either. There we stood in front of a teacher who was asking our names. I did know my name and then she asked me how old I was. I was lost. I did not know how to say six in English, but in Indian I knew, so I said it in Indian. The teacher, bless her, she had patience. I went through the first year learning quite a bit of English. The teacher, Mrs. Cooper, was from across the river. To come to Riverside she had to row across in a boat. In the fall and winter and some weekends she sometimes stayed at our home.
She was strict, but also she had an understanding of our lives and how we lived and worked. Generally at a day-school the teacher taught the grades from 1st grade to 8th grade. She knew discipline and she was respected for it. Sometimes it was a ruler across the knuckles but it was deserved. There was none of this, "I'm going to tell on you for child abuse"-- the modern day challenge to the progressive teacher.
As I grew up, grandpa took me everywhere he went. He taught me about nature, birds, animals, and to have respect for all that the Creator put on this mother earth. He said He put everything here for us to use and to help in any way we can. Back in that time, I did not know anything about race, color, or religion. But, I was raised the Indian way. When you are raised in the country, every day means something different for that day and you learn something new. I was taught to stay behind grandpa all the time, when we are walking or when I was helping with the work. I did not realize at the time that I was actually learning the way of life.
Gilbert Walker -- Takes the Gun was my grandpa who raised me and helped me through the first years of my life. Originally from the Riverside area, Takes the Gun's family moved to the Standing Rock Reservation when he was a young man. He left Standing Rock and went to Canada, going straight north to Pipestone, Manitoba. According to our mother's stories about Grandpa Takes the Gun, he farmed all during the time he was in Pipestone. In the fall, he and a group of men would go to Hudson Bay to hunt and bring back big game. I saw the gun he used for those big hunts. It was called a 4840. I don't remember the name of the gun though, but it was a huge gun. They brought moose, elk, and that type of game home for winter supplies. He did the same thing even after the family came back across to the United States in 1900.
My grand-parents were strong in Indian religion, as far back as I can remember. Grandpa was respectful of other beliefs. He bought the lumber to build the Presbyterian church at Riverside. This church was called the Maka Icu Presbyterian Church and was established in 1902.
Although grandpa paid for the material, helped to build the church and was an Elder in it, he believed more in the Indian religion. As far back as I can remember, he held sweats and participated in other ceremonies. Several grandpas lived in a log house near our home, and every Sunday evening an ini was made and a sweat was held. My grandpa's home was a gathering place for almost any occasion. Some visitor or visitors from another reservation or from Canada were there all the time.
The following is a quick reference to the families of Riverside. The numbers correspond to the location of their homes on the map. These are not the same as the allotment numbers on the map that Judge Muskrat made that I found in my papers. It was drawn by hand in pencil on This is where people lived in the 1930's.
1. Red Boy Family 2. Marian Walking Eagle lived near Brockton. He was the reservation police officer. 3. Ralph Walking Eagle was one of the first Indian farmers in the Riverside area and a great kindly man. 4. Harry Moore -- not much is known about him. He was the grandfather of Walking Eagle. 5. Fred White Hawk -- lived on a hill near the new Indian highway and worked for the local farmers. 6. George Fast Horse was a baseball pitcher for the Riverside team and worked for local farmers. Later on in his years, he came into Indian religion, prayed for people, and did limited ceremonies. He was a pipe carrier. 7. James Walking Eagle was a family man well up in years who enjoyed home life. He was a church goer. 8. James Spotted Bird is Mr. Walking Eagle's step-son who came from Fort Totten, North Dakota. He was quite a fiddle player. Next to their house, there was the War Mother's Hall that was built to honor the mothers who lost sons in the second world war. 9. War Mothers' Hall built by the Indian Highway. 10. Mrs. Oye Wi White Hawk and her husband lived on a hill south of James Walking Eagle's home. She raised her four sons there -- George, Mark, and Charles Eder. Many of her grandchildren stayed there from time to time. I used to play with them. 11. Jack Lefthand Thunder was a kindly old warrior who used to tell stories of horse raids and small skirmishes. He told of the time when this enemy was spying on these old fellows sitting in a circle in their tipi. When Jack was talking, making motions with his hands, he noticed this half of a face looking down on this group. He he told these visitors that someone as watching them, and he said, "I will make motions of shooting an arrow at something." So, he kept on talking. He raised the bow and arrow and suddenly aimed at this someone, let the arrow go and shot the enemy. 12. Medicine Crow and his wife, Goodnight Dog, both were very influential in Indian ways of life and they lived that life. Mrs. Goodnight Dog and the War Mothers of Riverside collected funds and had a monument built with all the WWII servicemen's names on the monument. Mrs. Goodnight Dog donated a piece of land by the Number 2 highway and had the monument placed by there, which was later moved to the Presbyterian cemetery. 13. Hugh Eagle Bear and my Grandma Mahpiya Waste Win (Good Cloud) -- Maggie Eagle Bear were quite old now when I used to visit them around the 1930's. I was about 8 years old. She told a story about Grandpa Eagle Bear when he went hunting across the river to the badlands. While he was going to the badlands, two settlers saw him. One said, "Shall I shoot him?" The other said, "Give me that gun. You are not going to shoot anybody. If you do, the whole tribe ill be on us -- that's for sure." This story got around until some of the Indians heard it and old it back to him. He went to the badlands and a sudden blizzard came up. As he walked along the bottom the hills he came upon a hole big enough to fit. He crawled into it. As he went further in, it got bigger until finally he could stand up. It was nice and warm, so he settled down, took out his pipe and smoked. He laid down and went to sleep. He knew there were some animals in there, but no one bothered any one. In a time of a crisis the Indian and the animals think alike. Maybe the animals know intuition, which is a mode of understanding without conscious thought or judgment. Most of you people who read this are hunters, and you very well know that you will not see the animal until you make eye contact -- a shock goes through you and the animal when you do. I know. It has happened to me at the Little Big Horn mountains west of Crow reservation. Grandpa Eagle Bear stayed in that hole for two days, until the storm let up and he came home. 14. Ida Turning Bear Weinberger was Grandma Eagle Bear's daughter, my father's sister. I remember they had a lot of horses. She was active in Indian ways. 15. Grover Cleveland was active in the Catholic church. He was the catechist for the local catholic church at Riverside. He was also active in Indian gatherings, such as Indian dances, celebrations and was a maintenance person who took care of the necessary work before a dance, like filling the gas lanterns and starting up fires in the stoves to heat up the round hall during the fall and winter. He was an Indian politician. 16. Howard and Edward Chaser were brothers, and they helped Mr. Grover Cleveland with daily work, such as cutting fire wood, barn cleaning, and driving the team of horses to Brockton or Poplar, especially for business at the agency or to get groceries 17. Steve Jones was an exceptional hunter. He was one of five brothers the sons of Bill Jones. during the depression years he married and raised four brothers. He moved on his land and supported his family. In the later years, his wife, Josephine, became involved in Indian religion through dreams, spirituality and was active in ceremonies. After the challenges that she had to endure through spirituality, she was finally given a place. She was a genuine Heyoka. 18. Thomas Turning Bear, after he married my mother Helen Walker in 1920, lived with his cousin Joseph Muskrat at his country place near Sprole. They stayed there until my father Thomas built a log home on his land south of Ida Turning Bear's home. He went to Flandreau Boarding School and was quite an athlete in baseball and basketball. They played college teams and won most of the games. 19. Thomas Melborne was the Riverside District barber. 20. Mr. William (Bill) Jones was quite a man. His was one of the first families to have a model T Ford. He was a very mechanically inclined person. Clarence Walker and myself visited their home to play with the boys. Bill had rigged up a belt from a circular saw for sawing logs. The belt was attached to the back wheel of his model T. This belt was turning the saw blade and he was cutting blocks for stove wood. It was exciting to see something new. He was quite an accordion player. Ralph, Asa, Amos. and myself were the guitar players. Bill would take the light bulbs from the headlights, some how wire them, and we would have lights hung along the outside of the house. This was usually- on Saturday evening. He would hook up the lights and we would bring out our guitars. The hoedown would start and it was a lot of fun for the kids. 21. William (Bill) Lester was quite well known in the Indian way of life. He was married to Grandpa Black Duck's daughter Alice. Black Duck lived with them. They lived in a large two room log house where meetings and social gatherings were held. Their home was the heart of the Black Duck village. 22. Ida Good Bear was a cousin to Alice Lester and lived nearby. She came from Cannonball, North Dakota. When her husband passed on, I believe she went to Cannonball. 23. Sam Lone Warrior I remember him as my Uncle Sam. I do not remember his mother and father. He had one daughter who is now married in Wapato, Washington. He was always helping people. 24.Benjamin Little Head is the son-in-law of Moses Cloud, He married Moses's oldest daughter, Bessie. She was very active in the Presbyterian Church and the Ladies Aid Society. He was active in the church, a great baseball player, and quite a man who was always joking. 25. Moses Cloud was a very amiable man. From what I heard from my grandfolks, he was a missionary who came from Nebraska. He came alone and settled in Riverside in the late 1900s. The church was built in 1902 or 1903. He settled and bought a piece of land near the dayschool and built a home there. Later his family came from Nebraska. They brought along a full complement of baseball equipment. A little west of the day-school, a baseball field was made. One good thing for this area, was that it brought the people together, no matter what church you belonged to. It was a gathering place for the community every Saturday or Sunday after church. People come in their wagons and brought lunch. Moses was very active in community affairs and started with community church conventions and, later, started young people christian groups who would go on camping trips, do Bible studies and have recreation in the afternoon. They had the parsonage, the mission house and the church. It was a very active place. The mission house was for feasts, basket socials, Bible studies and any special activities that needed a big house. This was the place where people enjoyed themselves. 26.Riverside Day School -- I entered the first grade at the age of 6 years old and went to this school for eight years. There were 30 to 40 students there almost every year. Mrs. Cooper was the teacher when I entered the first grade. Mr. Gunder Hansen was the next teacher to be assigned to the school. He started the Indian dance group, the basketball team, and the 4-H group. Mr. Hansen taught there until he retired and moved to Sidney,Montana where he farmed. His wife, Mrs. Hansen, is still living in Sidney. 27.The Community Hall was built around the late 30s, about the same time that the community gardens were developed. An irrigation system was put in, and a pump engine was put in by the river. Mr. Bill Jones was put in charge to run the engine and the water ways. The hall was mainly for learning how to cook with a pressure cooker. Mrs. Idel Walking Eagle, Lucian's wife, was the instructor and many Indian women learned how to cook and jar fruit and vegetables. 28. Teacherage -- the first teacher to move into the teacherage was Mr. Resbell with his wife and son in 1906. He was also the truant officer. 29. The Maka Icu Presbyterian Church was built in 1902. 30. A long log house was built for social gatherings, dinners, Bible studies and young people conventions. 31. Parsonage -- this was the of the home for the minister and his family. 32. Gilbert Walker - Takes the Gun bought 40 acres of land. My grandma also bought forty acres of bottom land. 33. Steve Walker built a log house near the big house, got married and raised a family. 34. Britton Fast Horse and his family moved into the empty log house since he was grandpa's automobile driver. He had the first car. He went into the Indian religion. 35. The Catholic church was already there in 1930s. A few Catholics lived in Riverside. We used to have dinners here. 36. The Catholic Mission house was the gathering place for social events. 37. Ice House was the gathering place for the local men when they went after ice. 38. Little Grandpa Santee was a real traditional man. In the 1940s he was in his 70s and a very active man. 39. Richard Red Stone. 40. Dan Medicine Horse. 41. Henry Shields and his wife, Hannah, were traditional people. 42. Joseph Bow was a Presbyterian elder. 43. Lucille War Club's mother log house. One night during a rain storm her log house was struck by lightening, and she said it knocked her across the room. 44. Roberet War Club. 45. John Thunder Horse and wife, Owi Kpa Wi lived below the War Club family near the timber line. They were traditional people. 46. George Washington and wife, Maggie, lived here. Hew was involved in Indian politics. 47. Ernest and Bill Longee lived on the same land with George Washington. 48. Reuben and Cora Feather Earring were one of the few families who took on the ID issue cattle. 49. Samnal Owns Pipe lived just east of Reuben Feather Earring's home. His son, Howard Owns Pipe, drove for Grandpa Takes the Gun. 50. Louise Turning Bear Rattling Thunder. 51. Judge Muskrat and family. This is where I was born. 51.A. White Deer's Tail 52. Richard (Joker) Benidick lived north of the Muskrat home. He was quite a man. His wife was a great marble shooter. All the kids in our area used to go to their home just to play arbles with her. She weighed around 250 Ibs. 53. Joshua Spotted Dog and family were a traditional family. He had a grandson who was working for the tribe. 54. Benidick White Hawk lived with the Spotted Dog family in his earlier years. He was quite a grass dancer in his time. 55. Ralph and Mark Longee lived in the backwaters of the Missouri on what was called the "island" below Grandpa White Shield's home. 56. Ole White Shield was a follower of the Sitting Bull Indian religion and settled in Riverside. He was a Holyman. He knew when Grandpa Takes the Gun was coming back from Canada, and he also knew that grandpa was carrying a sacred rock. They became close friends. He helped with the ceremonies. 57. John White Hawk and his wife -- she was my aunt, and she was totally blind from birth. He was a great harmonica player. 58. Frank Eagle and family lived next door to John White Hawk. They helped two elders with daily work and took them visiting and to other activities. 59. Thomas Buckles was a Presbyterian elder, and a man who cared for the other person's need before his own. A story was told about Tom many years ago. Depression was coming and wild game was scarce. One day he went hunting and he got three deer, skinned them, cut them up and went house to house passing out the deer to families in the Riverside area. 60. Lucian and Adele Walking Eagle -- he was a Bible teacher in Indian language (Sioux) and was an elder in the church. At one time he raised turkeys and other farm animals. He was a hard worker. They lived north of the tracks. He did a lot of hay cutting. 61. Carl Walking Eagle was an active man. He was a line-rider for the agency and coordinated the yearly round up of horses for strays. The horses were brought to grandpa's corrals to separate them. Even this roundup called for a small celebration. People came and camped near the house and helped with the horses. 62. John Smith was a quite man. His wife was the Presbyterian church organist. They were a Christian family. 63. William (Bill) Ogle had a two story log house. 64. Fred Walking Eagle. 65. Black Duck --Grandpa Black Duck was the leader of the Black Duck village. He was involved in Indian politics. Click here for map of area.