James White Cloud facts for kids

James White Cloud (born May 15, 1840 – died July 16, 1940) was an important leader of the Iowa people. He served as their Chief for many years, from 1865 until he passed away in 1940.

Early Life and Family

James White Cloud was born on May 15, 1840. His parents were Francis White Cloud and Mary Many Days Robidoux. His Ioway name was The-gro-wo-nung.

His grandfather on his father's side was Mahaska. The town of White Cloud, Kansas, was named after Mahaska. On his mother's side, his grandfather was Joseph Robidoux IV. Joseph Robidoux IV founded the city of St. Joseph, Missouri.

James White Cloud's parents started one of the main families of Métis people. Métis people have both Native American and European ancestors. This family was very important in the fur trade during the 1800s in Missouri and Kansas. James' father died in 1859 during a fight with the Pawnee.

James White Cloud went to a mission school in Highland, Kansas. During the American Civil War, he served as a Scout. He was part of Company C, 14th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry in the Union Army. He helped fight back against a raid led by William Quantrill in Lawrence, Kansas. This event is known as the Lawrence massacre.

Leading the Iowa Nation

James White Cloud became the Chief of the Ioway Indian Nation in 1865. He remained Chief for a very long time, until his death in 1940.

On February 28, 1867, James married Pumpkin Vine. She was a full-blooded Ioway woman. Later, she was known as Grandma Louise White Cloud. She lived from 1848 to 1914. Her parents were Sho-tom-he and Daw-ya-ma-mee. James and Pumpkin Vine had two sons, but only Lewis White Cloud lived to be an adult.

Ioway customs allowed men to have more than one wife. In 1874, James married Lydia Dorian, who was also an Ioway woman. James and both of his wives lived in the same house. Later, James also married Sallie Dorian from the Sac and Fox Nation in 1875. They had two children, Emma Little Crow and Joseph White Cloud. He also married Josie Dorian, an Ioway woman, in 1884.

James received 160 acres of land on the Ioway Reservation. This land was in northeast Brown County. About 100 acres of his farm were used for growing crops. His farm had a three-room house and other buildings. It also had a well and a bark mill. This was the only bark mill on the reservation.

James White Cloud and his granddaughter, Louise White Cloud, both died in 1940. They were buried in Tesson Cemetery in Brown County. The cemetery was named after Joseph Tesson. He was from the Sac and Fox Nation and was James White Cloud's brother-in-law.

After James White Cloud's death in 1940, his great-grandson became Chief. This was Jimmy Rhodd (1935–1997), also known as James Mahaska Rhodd. He became Chief of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.