Wowinape

Wowinape, 1864Born in 1846, Wowinape, also known as Thomas Wakeman, was the son of Taoyateduta, or Little Crow. A Mdewakanton Dakota, he lived with his family on the Lower Sioux Reservation near Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Wowinape fled with his father after the U.S.-Dakota War but traveled back to southwest Minnesota in 1863, where his father was murdered while they picked berries. Wowinape escaped again, but was caught and persecuted at Davenport prison in Iowa. After being pardoned, he settled in what is now Flandreau, South Dakota and helped to organize the first Native-run YMCA.  He died of tuberculosis in 1886 in Redwood Falls, Minnesota.  

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1862
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Wowinapes Trial
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Wowinapes Trial

Wowinape's Trial

This document provides a transcript of the trial of Wowinape (Wówinaphe), son of the Dakota chief Little Crow. Wowinape was tried for his alleged participation in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The transcript lists the members of the military commission assembled to try Wowinape, describes the two charges against him, and records testimony offered by eye witnesses of events during the war, including Little Crow's murder. The commission found Wowinape guilty and sentenced him to be executed. Letters appended to the end of the transcript question the validity of the trial and anticipate Wowinape's eventual pardon, after which he converted to Christianity and changed his name to Thomas Wakeman.