Thomas Wakeman (

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

: ''Wowinape'') (1846 – January 13, 1886) was a Dakota (also known as Sioux) based in Dakota Territory who organized the first

Indian

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. Over the years, 66 Sioux associations have been founded, and they have more than 1000 members. As of 2000, Sioux YMCAs, under the leadership of a Lakota Board of Directors, operate programs serving families and youth on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.

Background

Chief

Little Crow Little Crow III (Dakota: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; 1810 – July 3, 1863) was a Mdewakanton Dakota chief who led a faction of the Dakota in a five-week war against the United States in 1862. In 1846, after surviving a violent leadership contest ...

(

: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; en, His Red Nation) of the Dakota had a son named Wowinape (

: Wówinaphe ; en, Place of Refuge) born in 1846. Little Crow and Wowinape survived the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...

and moved west to Dakota Territory when the Dakota and Winnebago were expelled from southern Minnesota. They lived at Devil's Lake. On June 10, 1863, they left to make a raid into

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

to get horses for their family. On July 3, 1863, Little Crow and his son were in the "Big Woods" picking raspberries. A settler named Nathan Lamson saw them and shot and killed Little Crow to get the bounty posted against the Sioux, as they had been expelled from the state. His son Wowinape escaped and fled back to Devil's Lake. He was later captured, tried and sentenced to hang. He was sent to a prison camp in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

. There he converted to Christianity and took the name Thomas Wakeman. He was pardoned in 1865 and settled in Dakota Territory. Wakeman married Judith Minnetonka in January 1874. They had four sons and two daughters: Solomon, Ruth, John, Jesse, Ida, and Alex Wakeman.

Career

On April 27, 1879 Thomas Wakeman and his friends started the ''Koskad Okodakiciye'', a Young Man's Association, at Flandreau, Dakota Territory, now in South Dakota. In 1885, it was recognized by the national YMCA and its name was changed to Sioux YMCA. The term Sioux was used by European Americans, who did not distinguish among the various tribes.

Death

Wakeman contracted tuberculosis and died at Redwood Falls, Minnesota on January 13, 1886. His son Jesse Wakeman succeeded his father at the YMCA.

Notes

External links

* * Location of Historical Marker in Redwood County, Minnesota {{DEFAULTSORT:Wakeman, Thomas Converts to Christianity Dakota people 1846 births 1886 deaths People from Redwood Falls, Minnesota YMCA leaders