Paul Swan (Lakota: Maǧáska, 1838? – September 30, 1900) was a prominent

Minneconjou The Miniconjou ( Lakota: Mnikowoju, Hokwoju – ‘Plants by the Water’) are a Native American people constituting a subdivision of the Lakota people, who formerly inhabited an area in western present-day South Dakota from the Black Hills ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: * Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: *Lakota, Iowa *Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County *Lakot ...

headman on the

Cheyenne River Reservation The Cheyenne River Indian Reservation was created by the United States in 1889 by breaking up the Great Sioux Reservation, following the attrition of the Lakota in a series of wars in the 1870s. The reservation covers almost all of Dewey ...

Early life

Born about 1838, he was the son of the influential headman Chief White Swan, one of six hereditary chiefs of the Minneconjou (a.k.a. Howoju or Owoju) 1866. White Bull later recalled that the elder White Swan "in particular hated the whites." By the time of the

Great Sioux War of 1876-77 The Great Sioux War of 1876, also known as the Black Hills War, was a series of battles and negotiations that occurred in 1876 and 1877 in an alliance of Lakota Sioux and Northern Cheyenne against the United States. The cause of the war was t ...

, however, White Swan's position had moderated and he had settled at the Cheyenne River Agency on the Missouri River. His sons, however, including Paul Swan a.k.a. Little Swan, Fine Weather and Puts on His Shoes, remained out with the non-treaty bands. Paul fought at the

Battle of Rosebud The Battle of the Rosebud (also known as the Battle of Rosebud Creek) took place on June 17, 1876, in the Montana Territory between the United States Army and its Crow and Shoshoni allies against a force consisting mostly of Lakota Sioux and ...

and the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, No ...

. Following the death of his father in 1877, Paul Swan assumed the leadership role of his family band.

Cheyenne River Reservation

It is uncertain when Paul Swan and his brothers surrendered at the Cheyenne River Agency. They may have come in with the large number of Minneconjou who surrendered in the spring of 1877 or they could have gone to Canada with

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( lkt, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Roc ...

and not returned until the surrenders in 1881–82. By 1886, Paul Swan was living at Cheyenne River. In 1881, the Minneconjou leadership gathered at Cheyenne River to select new slcapshirt wearers, symbols of leadership among the Lakota. With only three of the original chieftains still living, the tribe decided to select replacements. Paul Swan was selected to fill the vacancy of his father. Other headman selected included

Touch the Clouds Touch the Clouds (Lakota: Maȟpíya Ičáȟtagya or Maȟpíya Íyapat'o) (c. 1838 – September 5, 1905) was a chief of the '' Minneconjou'' Teton Lakota (also known as Sioux) known for his bravery and skill in battle, physical strength and ...

White Bull White Bull ( Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Ská) (April 1849 – June 21, 1947) was the nephew of Sitting Bull, and a famous warrior in his own right. White Bull participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. Early life Born in t ...

, Big Crow and Touch the Bear.Stanley Vestal, ''Warpath: The True Story of the Fighting Sioux Told in a Biography of Chief White Bull'' (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1984) p. 231. Paul Swan received an allotment in the Cherry Creek area of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

where he raised his family. He died September 30, 1900.

References

External links

''Exhibition of original portraits in oil and in pencil''
an exhibition catalog of the artist, available from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries. {{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, Paul Lakota leaders