Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance (born Sylvester Clark Long; December 1, 1890 – March 20, 1932) was a mixed race Native-American journalist, writer and film actor, believed today to be of Lumbee descent, who, for a time, became internationally prominent as a spokesman for

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

causes. He published an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, purportedly based on his experience as the son of a

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bl ...

chief. He was the first presumed

admitted to

the Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904 and has served as a meeting point for ex ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It has been traditionally speculated whether Long was of any indigenous ancestry; he claimed to be of mixed

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

and

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

heritage, at a time when Southern society imposed strict binary divisions of heritage in a

racially-segregated Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by people ...

society. After his tribal claims were unable to be verified and the truth about his African-American heritage came out, he was dropped by these same social circles to which he had gained entry. Today, the

Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe represents Lumbee people. They have federal recognition as a Native American tribe but do not receive the benefits accorded to most other federally-recog ...

and other scholars generally consider Long to have been of Lumbee descent, an indigenous population known for its tri-racial heritage. During Long's lifetime, the Lumbee people were referred to by various names by the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

, including the "Cherokee Indians of Robeson County." This name lasted until 1956, when the population was formally redesignated by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

as Lumbee.

Early life and education

Long had ambitions that were larger than what he saw of his future in Winston, where his father Joseph S. Long was a janitor in the school system. In that segregated society,

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

had limited opportunities.Alexander D. Gregor, review of Donald B. Smith, ''Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance: The Glorious Impersonator''
, Manitoba Library Association, accessed 18 Apr 2009 Long first left North Carolina to portray Indian characters in a "

Wild West Show Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of co ...

". During this time he continued to build upon his (later proven to be fraudulent) stories of being

. In 1909, Long claimed to be half Cherokee when he applied to the

Carlisle Indian Industrial School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from its founding in 1879 to 1918. It was based in the histo ...

and was accepted. He also lied about his age to gain admission. He graduated in 1912 at the top of his class, which included prominent Native Americans such as

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

and Robert

Geronimo Gerónimo (, ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands the Tchihen ...

, a son of the famous

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

warrior. Long entered the St. John's and Manlius Military academies in

Manlius, New York Manlius is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town to the south east of Syracuse, New York, Syracuse in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 33,712, making it the third largest suburb in Sy ...

with a full musical scholarship, based on his performance at the Carlisle School.

Career

Long went to Canada as an acting sergeant in 1919, requesting discharge at

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

. He worked as a journalist for the ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

''. Canada had ''de facto'' segregation and a climate in which the government had discouraged black immigration from the US. During this time in both Canada and the US it was common for those of African heritage to instead make false claims of Cherokee or

. "It is not surprising that in such a climate...Long Lance felt that he was safer, and that he could go further, by disavowing any connection, cultural or racial, to blackness." Long presented himself as a Cherokee from Oklahoma and claimed he was a

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

graduate with the ''

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

'' earned in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. For the next three years as a reporter, he covered Indian issues. He criticized government treatment of Indians and openly criticized Canada's ''

Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' () is a Canadian Act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still in force with amendments, it is the primary document that defines how t ...

'', especially their attempts at re-education and prohibiting the practice of tribal rituals. To a friend, Long justified his decision to assume a Blackfoot Indian identity by saying it would help him be a more effective advocate, that he had not lived with his own people since he was sixteen, and now knew more about the Indians of Western Canada. In 1924, Long Lance became a press representative for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. Through these years, Long also entered the civic life of the city, by joining the local

Elks Lodge The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...

and the militia, and coaching football for the

Calgary Canucks The Calgary Canucks are a junior ice hockey#Junior A, junior A ice hockey team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). They play in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with home games at the Max Bell Centre (Calgary), Ken Bracko Arena. They have won th ...

. Due to

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...

, these activities would not have been possible had he honestly presented himself as a black man. He was a successful writer, publishing articles in national magazines, reaching a wide and diverse audience through ''Macleans'' and ''Cosmopolitan''. By the time he wrote his autobiography in Alberta in 1927, Long claimed to be a full-blooded Blackfoot Indian.

Autobiography and fame

Cosmopolitan Book Company commissioned Long's autobiography as a boy's adventure book on Indians. It published ''Long Lance'' in 1928, to quick success. In it, Long claimed to have been born a Blackfoot, son of a chief, in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

's Sweetgrass Hills. He also said that he had been wounded eight times in the Great War and been promoted to the rank of captain. The popular success of his book and the international press made him a major celebrity. The book became an international bestseller and was praised by literary critics and anthropologists. Long had already been writing and lecturing on the life of

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nations peoples who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of North ...

. His celebrity gave him more venues and caused him to be taken up as part of the New York party life. More significantly, he was then admitted to the prominent Explorers' Club in New York. The Explorers' Club believed they were admitting their "first Indian". He received an average price of $100 for his speeches, a good price in those years. He endorsed a sport shoe for the

B.F. Goodrich Company The Goodrich Corporation, formerly the B.F. Goodrich Company, was an American manufacturing company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co. by Benjamin Goodrich, Dr. Benjamin Franklin Go ...

. A film magazine, ''

Screenland ''Screenland'' was a monthly American magazine about movies, published between September 1920 and June 1971,

Indigeneity

The

and other scholars generally consider Long to have been of Lumbee descent, and not Blackfoot as he had claimed. In 1929, Long entered the film world, starring as the lead protagonist of the 1930 silent film '' The Silent Enemy'', a drama focusing on a famine and power struggle in a

post-classical In Human history, world history, post-classical history refers to the period from about 500 CE to 1500 CE, roughly corresponding to the European Middle Ages. The period is characterized by the expansion of civilizations geographically an ...

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

tribe. The film employed over 200 indigenous persons, including actors Chief Yellow Robe, Cheeka, Chief Awakanush, and Molly Spotted Elk, and strived to be an accurate representation of Native American history. Chief Yellow Robe, the central actor who portrayed the Chief and who likely served as a cultural advisor of the film, became suspicious of Long and alerted the studio legal advisor. Long could not explain his heritage to their satisfaction, and rumors began to circulate. An investigation revealed that his father had not been a Blackfoot chief, but a school janitor in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

. Some neighbors from his home town testified that they thought his background may have included African ancestry, which meant by Southern racial standards, he was black. However, the Lumbee are triracial. Although the studio did not publicize its investigation, the accusations led many of his socialite acquaintances to abandon Long. Author

Irvin S. Cobb Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (June 23, 1876 – March 11, 1944) was an American author, humorist, editor and columnist from Paducah, Kentucky, who relocated to New York in 1904, living there for the remainder of his life. He wrote for the ''New York Wor ...

, a native of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

active in New York, is said to have lamented, "We're so ashamed! We entertained a

nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...

!" In his ''Being and Becoming Indian: Biographical Studies of North American Frontiers'', late 20th century historian James A. Clifton called Long "a sham" who "assumed the identity of an Indian", "an adopted ethnic identity pure and simple." In her book ''Real Indians: Identity and the Survival of Native Americans'' (2003), Eva Marie Garroutte uses the controversy over Long's identity to introduce questions surrounding contested Indian identity and authenticity in United States culture.

Death

After the controversy surrounding his identity,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

socialite Anita Baldwin took Long as a

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

on her trip to Europe. Because of his behavior, Baldwin abandoned him in New York. For a time, he fell in love with dancer Elisabeth Clapp but refused to marry her. In 1931, he returned to Baldwin. In 1932, Long was found dead in Baldwin's home in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

from a gunshot. His death was ruled a

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. Long left his assets to St. Paul's

Indian Residential School The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The scho ...

Southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

. Most of his papers were willed to his friend, Canon S.H. Middleton. They were acquired, along with the Middleton papers, by J. Zeiffle, a dealer who sold the papers to the

Glenbow Museum The Glenbow Museum is an art and history local museum, regional museum in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The museum focuses on Western Canada, Western Canadian history and culture, including Indigenous perspectives. The Glenbow was establ ...

in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1968."Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance fonds"
, Archives, Glenbow Museum, accessed 19 Apr 2009

References

External links

"Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance fonds"
Archives, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta
Watch ''Long Lance''
a

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary
''Long Lance''
a post by the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo Child Long Lance, Chief 1890 births 1932 deaths 1932 suicides 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century Canadian memoirists African–Native American relations American emigrants to Canada Canadian male journalists Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian people of African-American descent Carlisle Indian Industrial School alumni History of Black people in Canada Impostors Literary forgeries Manlius Pebble Hill School alumni Multiracial affairs in the United States Suicides by firearm in California Lumbee people Native American journalists