Thomas St. Germain Whitecloud II (8 October 1914 – 1972) was a Chippewa writer and medical doctor. One of the founding members of the

Association of American Indian Physicians Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, he innovated several techniques in spine surgery.

Biography

He was born in New York City, October 8, 1914. His mother was Euro-American and his father, Thomas S. Whitecloud, was Chippewa and a graduate of the Yale Law School. When the Whiteclouds divorced, and Thomas's father returned to the Lac Du Flambeau Reservation in Wisconsin, to remarry and raise a family, Thomas St. Germain Whitecloud remained with his mother, but he seems to have spent time on the reservation as well. The younger Whitecloud encountered difficult times growing up. He was in and out of public schools as well as federal Indian schools in Albuquerque, Chilocco, and Santa Fe. He made an unsuccessful attempt at college studies at the University of New Mexico but finally settled down to serious study at the University of Redlands, where he also met and married Barbara Ibanez. Meanwhile, during his youth, he had been a farm worker, truck driver, mechanic, handyman, and boxer, among others.but his father divorced and remarried, and he was raised on the

Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is ''Kerria lacca''. Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infes ...

near Woodruff, Wisconsin. Whitecloud studied in New Mexico and California, receiving his degree in medicine from

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

. Throughout his life, he worked with institutions like the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to further Indian causes. He lived in Louisiana and Texas, and was a consultant for the Texas Commission on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse for Indians at the time of his death in 1972. " Blue Winds Dancing" (1938), Whitecloud's most famous story, is about a young man's struggle to exist in ancient and modern America. It consists of a lyrical account of his journey home, and is anthologized in the ''Heath Anthology of American Literature''. The story stands out in contemporary literature for its acceptance, lyrical prose, vivid imagery, and social observations. Whitecloud is cited as the author of a prayer to the Father, the Creator, which emphasized Indigenous spirituality in relation to nature.

References

External links

"Blue Winds Dancing"
by Tom Whitecloud
Native American Authors Project

Remembering Thomas Whitecloud III (Tulane University)
— obituary of his son

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitecloud, Thomas Native American writers Ojibwe people 1914 births 1972 deaths American surgeons 20th-century surgeons