Thomas Wakeman (

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

: ''Wowinape'') (1846 – January 13, 1886) was a

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

(also known as Sioux) based in Dakota Territory who organized the first

Indian

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. 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 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 people, Lakota in a series of wars in the 1870s. The reservation covers almost ...

Background

Chief

Little Crow Little Crow III ( Dakota: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; 1810 – July 3, 1863) was a Wahpekute 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 w ...

(

: ''Thaóyate Dúta''; ) of the Dakota had a son named Wowinape (

: Wówinaphe; ) 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, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

to get horses for their family. On July 3, 1863, Little Crow and his son were in the "Big Woods" picking raspberries. They were spotted by two settlers, Nathan Lamson and his son Chauncey. The four engaged in a brief firefight. Little Crow wounded the elder Lamson, but was mortally shot by both Lamson and his son. The chief told his own son Wowinape to flee. The father and son got the bounty posted against the Sioux, as they had been expelled from the state. Wowinape, who had fled back to Devil's Lake, was later captured, tried and sentenced to hang. He was sent to a prison camp in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

. 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 Redwood Falls is a city in Redwood County, Minnesota, Redwood County, located along the Redwood River near its confluence with the Minnesota River, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 5,102 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

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 Redwood County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 15,425. Its county seat is Redwood Falls, Minnesota, Redwood Falls, along the Redwood River n ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakeman, Thomas Converts to Christianity Dakota people 1846 births 1886 deaths People from Redwood Falls, Minnesota YMCA leaders