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American
Indians of the Mid - West
Mandan
Chief - Mato-tope
Depicted
in Full War Paint
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Mandan
- Chief Mato-tope
by
Apryl Nelson
Mato-tope was the
second chief of the Mandans, known to whites as Four Bears, a name he earned
after charging the Assiniboine tribe during battle with the strength of four
bears. Four Bears lived in the first half of the nineteenth century on
the upper Missouri River in what is now North Dakota. Four Bears was a
favorite subject of artists, painted by George Catlin and Karl Bodmer.
Among his people he was a brave warrior, famous for killing a Cheyenne chief
in hand to hand combat.
Four Bears died on July 30th, 1837 after suffering from Small Pox, brought
to his tribe by whites. Before his own death he lost his wife and
children to the disease and in his last speech to the Arikaras and Mandans
(two closely related tribes) he denounced the white man he had previously
treated as a brother for bringing the disease to his people. Four
Bears lamented that in death his scarred face would be so ugly even the
wolves would turn away from him. Small Pox wiped out more than eighty
percent of the Mandan population in only a few months, the Mandans
were not the only tribe to suffer from the disease.
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Mandan
Chief
Mato-tope Dressed
in shirt made from mountain
sheep skins. The
tribal Chiefs were highly
respected and stood out from the
rest of the tribe. They
appeared in full feather
head-dress and ornate
costumes. |
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Bird's
eye view of of Mandan Village
Photo courtesy
of the State Historical Society
of North Dakota
Mandan
Tribe- North Dakota
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This
article compiled by Apryl Nelson using above resources. All copyrights to
materials used are retained by those who provided the material, originating
source indicated that images were public domain and made available by those
who owned them for educational purposes, which is the intent of the
pages provided on this site.
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