Thomas Wakeman

Infobox Celebrity
name = Thomas Wakeman
birth_name = Wawinape (or Wowinape)


caption =
birth_date = 1846
birth_place = Sioux Reservation
death_date =death date and age |1886|01|13|1846|00|00|
death_place =Redwood Falls, Minnesota, USA
occupation =
parents = Little Crow
spouse = Judith Minnetonka
children = 6
religion = Native American,
Christian convert
website =
footnotes =

Thomas Wakeman (Sioux: "Wawinape") (1846 – January 13 1886) was a Native American who organized the first Sioux Indian YMCA.cite book |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=YMCA in America (1851–2001), A History of Accomplishment Over 150 Years |accessdate=2008-03-24 |date=2000 |publisher=YMCA of the USA |pages=p. 6 ] cite web |url=http://www.siouxymca.org/history.htm |title=Cheyenne River Reservation Sioux YMCA |accessdate=2008-03-24] Over the years, 66 Sioux associations have been founded with over 1000 members. Today, the Sioux YMCAs, under the leadership of a Lakota Board of Directors, operate programs serving families and youth on the convert|4500|sqmi|km2 Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.

Biography

Chief Little Crow (Sioux: "Tayoyateduta"; English: "His Red Nation") of the Sioux had a son named Wawinape (English: "Place of Refuge") in 1846.cite web |url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~corder/RCGS/Historical/page5.html |title=Wowinape or Thomas Wakeman (historical marker) |accessdate=2008-03-24] Little Crow and Wawinape survived the Dakota War of 1862. They lived at Devil's Lake in Dakota territory. On June 10 1863, they left to make a raid into Minnesota to get horses for their family. On July 3 1863, Little Crow and his son were in the "Big Woods" picking strawberries. A settler named Nathan Lamson saw them and shot and killed Little Crow. His son Wawinape escaped and fled back to Devil's Lake. He was later captured, tried and sentenced to hang. He was sent to a prison camp in Davenport, Iowa.cite web |url=http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/history/mncultures/littlecrow.html |title=Famous Native Minnesotans: Little Crow |accessdate=2008-03-24] 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.

On April 27 1879 Thomas Wakeman and his friends started the Koskada Okadiciye, a Young Man's Association, at Flandreau, Dakota Territory. In 1885, it was recognized by the national YMCA and its name was changed to Sioux Young Men's Christian Association.

Wakeman contracted tuberculosis and died at Redwood Falls, Minnesota on January 13 1886. His son Jesse succeeded his father at the YMCA.

References

External links

* [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~corder/RCGS/Historical/Images/Wowinape.jpgHistorical Marker]
*coord|44.5511|-95.1|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline Location of Historical Marker in Redwood County, Minnesota

Persondata
NAME = Wakeman, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Wawinape, Wowinape
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Native American who organized the first Sioux Indian YMCA
DATE OF BIRTH = 1846
PLACE OF BIRTH = Sioux Reservation
DATE OF DEATH = January 13 1886
PLACE OF DEATH = Redwood Falls, Minnesota, USA