Co-Rux-Te-Chod-Ish (English: Mad or Angry Bear) was a Sergeant in Company A, Pawnee Scout Battalion, US Army

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

and the first Indigenous recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

—for his actions in the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

of the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. He was the first Native American to receive the Medal of Honor.

Biography

Kuruks Tîčaris (translated into English as Mad or Angry Bear, but is Pawnee for

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

) was born circa 1847 in

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, growing up as a Pawnee tribesman. He entered the U.S. Army at

Columbus, Nebraska Columbus is the county seat of Platte County, Nebraska, situated at the confluence of the Loup River, Loup and Platte River, Platte rivers roughly 85 miles (137 km) west-northwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha and 75 miles (121 km) northwe ...

as an Indian Scout. On 8 July 1869, while chasing after a Cheyenne Dog Soldier near the

Republican River The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, rising in the High Plains of eastern Colorado and flowing east U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map acce ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, he was thrown from his horse and was badly injured when another member of his unit shot him by mistake. Frank North's brother Luther North claimed that, because of the

language barrier A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication, i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups originally speaking different languages (or different dialects in ...

between the Pawnee and the Army, the name of Mad Bear was confused with the name of another Pawnee Scout, Co-Tux-A-Kah-Wadde (Traveling Bear), who was commended for his actions during the Battle of Summit Springs on 11 July 1869, and Traveling Bear was given a medal mistakenly engraved with Mad Bear's name. In reality, Mad Bear was not present in the fighting at the Battle of Summit Springs, still recovering from his injury, and

Eugene Asa Carr Eugene Asa Niel Carr (March 20, 1830 – December 2, 1910) was a soldier in the United States Army and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Pea Ridge. E ...

's recommendation and the document acknowledging the receipt of the medal (bearing Mad Bear's English name and an "X" mark for his signature) both reference the actions of Mad Bear, not Traveling Bear. Mad Bear was the first Native American to receive the Medal of Honor. Co-Rux-Te-Chod-Ish died on 12 February 1913, at about age 65, and is buried in Oklahoma.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Pawnee Scouts, U.S. Army. Place and date: At Republican River, Kans., July 8, 1869. Entered service at: ------. Birth: Nebraska. Date of issue: August 24, 1869. Citation:

Ran out from the command in pursuit of a dismounted Indian; was shot down and badly wounded by a bullet from his own command.

References

External links

* * 1840s births 1913 deaths Year of birth uncertain Pawnee people United States Army Indian Scouts Native American people of the Indian Wars United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Native American United States military personnel United States Army soldiers American Indian Wars recipients of the Medal of Honor 19th-century Native American people Native American people from Nebraska {{US-Army-bio-stub

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

External links