Tom Whitecloud

Thomas St. Germain Whitecloud II (8 October 1914 -- 1972) was a Chippewa writer and doctor. One of the founding members of the Association of American Indian Physicians, he innovated several techniques in spine surgery.

He was born in New York, but his father divorced and remarried, and he was raised on the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation near Woodruff, Wisconsin. Whitecloud studied in New Mexico and California, receiving his degree in medicine from Tulane University. Throughout his life, he worked with institutions like the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to further Indian causes. He eventually settled with his family in Picayune, Mississippi.

"Blue Winds Dancing" (1938) is Whitecloud's most famous story, about a young man's struggle to exist in ancient and modern America. It consists of a lyrical account of his journey home. It is widely taught in university literature classes.

External links

* [http://es.geocities.com/gusanito.feliz/index.html "Blue Winds Dancing"] by Tom Whitecloud
* [http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A464 Native American Authors Project]
* [http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=4659 Remembering Thomas Whitecloud III (Tulane University)] -- obituary of his son
* [http://blog.nola.com/dougmaccash/2007/11/american_indian_art_and_artifa.html Exhibition of his son's art collection]
* [http://college.hmco.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/modern/whitecloudchippewa_th.html Thomas S. Whitecloud (Chippewa)]