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Dennis Harcey Collection

Accession Number
1003131
Donor Name
Dennis Harcey
Processor
Jon Ille
Access Restrictions on Use
None
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
All publication rights are held by Little Big Horn College and use for publication must be approved by archivist.
Preferred Citation of Materials
The Dennis Harcey, Little Big Horn College Archives, Crow Agency, MT.

Physical Description

Linear Feet
.5
Scope
1874-1924
Content
Correspondence from Crow Agency, pension records, allotment records, copies of published materials related to Crow Indians and the North American Indian Memorial.

Provenance

Dennis Harcey collected the material in the course of researching his book White Man Runs Him with Brian R. Coone from various institutions including the National Archives and Minnesota Historical Society. Prior to its donation to the Little Big Horn College Archives, the research resided with Dennis Harcey.

Biographical Note

Dennis Harcey received his B.S. in 1961 and M.S. in 1961 with a focus in history and anthropology from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. His Master’s thesis dealt with Winnebago culture. Harcey played an important role in starting the “Big Woods/Big Plains” lecture series in 1987. In addition to his research on Native American culture and history, Harcey taught a wide variety of courses including United States and World History. Harcey currently resides in Stillwater, Minnesota.

Historical Note

Born in 1858, White Man Runs Him gained much of his notoriety as one the Crow scouts during the ill-fated 1876 campaign against the Lakota and Cheyenne that culminated in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. After leaving the army, White Man Runs Him eventually settled in the Reno District of the Crow Reservation.

White Man Runs Him took an active role in reservation politics, siding with the Elks Lodge against the Crow Indian Lodge when Helen Grey helped unleash a great deal of tumult between younger (Crow Indian) and older (Elks) Crows in the early twentieth century. He visited Washington DC on several occasions to testify against opening the reservation to non-Crow settlers. His most active testimony occurred during an attempt by Senator Thomas Walsh to open the reservation to homesteaders in 1913. During visits to Washington DC, White Man Runs Him often lobbied to receive a pension for serving as a scout during the Plains Indian Wars. He eventually received a small pension. White Man Runs Him passed away in 1924.

Inventory

  1. Correspondence, Crow Agency, 1913: The correspondence in the file primarily deals with a visit to New York City for the laying of the cornerstone for the Memorial to the North American Indian and for testifying in Washington DC regarding opening the Crow Reservation to outside settlement.
  2. Correspondence, Crow Agency, 1916-17: The correspondence in the file primarily deals with a visit to Washington DC about the opening of the Crow Reservation to outside settlement.
  3. Pension Records, White Man Runs Him
  4. A Tribute to the North American Indian, NA, No Date
  5. New York Times, February 23, 1913, “Nations Memorial to the Red Man”
  6. Mafred E. Keune, “An Immodest Proposal: A Memorial to the North American Indian”
  7. Kenneth Hammer, Men With Custer
  8. The Moccasin Trail, NA 1932
  9. Joseph H. Appel, The Business Biography of John Wanamaker: Founder and Builder, 1930
  10. Petition, Crow Tribal Business Council, 1917
  11. Allotment Records, White Man Runs Him