Who Was Chief Two Guns?

If you've ever had the pleasure to visit the Many Glacier area, chances are you're familiar with Chief Two Guns, the tour boat that cruises the waters of Swiftcurrent Lake. Many people take this boat to shorten their hikes up to Grinnell Glacier or Grinnell Lake:

Many people, however, may not be aware that Chief Two Guns was a real person. Born in 1872, Chief John Two Guns White Calf was the son of White Calf, who was known as the last tribal chief of the Pikuni Blackfeet, and was responsible for many of the Blackfoot Tribe's treaties, including the sale of lands that would become Glacier National Park.

After the death of his father in 1902, Two Guns became a tribal leader, and would arguably become one of the most famous Native Americans in the 20th century. One of his claims to fame is that he was a model for the Indian head nickel, more commonly referred to as the Buffalo nickel. Actually, he was among a couple of models that were used to create a composite image of an Indian -- or maybe not.

The famous five-cent piece, designed by sculptor James Fraser, was issued by the U.S. Mint between 1913 and 1938. Fraser claimed to have used Iron Tail, Two Moons, "and one or two others". Fraser would later write that he had used three Indians for the piece, including "Irontail, the best Indian head I can remember. The other one was Two Moons, the other I cannot recall." However, Chief Two Guns always claimed that he was the other model, and based on what I've read there was much controversy, or even political conspiracy, as to why he was never given credit for being the third model.

In short, some in the U.S. Government feared that the influencial Native American would try to incite his tribe into a war with the U.S. in order to regain lands that were ceded to the United States for the future national park. By refusing to recognize him as a model for the nickel, government officials believed they could discredit Two Guns, and thus limit his influence within the tribe. The dispute between the United States and Two Guns arose as a result of the government's refusal to honor the stipulations of the 1895 treaty, which sold the Blackfoot lands that would become the eastern portion of Glacier National Park. Two Guns eventually traveled to Washington D.C. to confront the Commissioner of Indian Affairs about the funds that were still owed to the Blackfeet tribe. After telling the Commissioner that he wouldn't leave until he had their money, the Commissioner finally relented and handed him a check.

In The Father of Glacier National Park, the author, Hugh Grinnell, relates this quite hilarious tale where Two Guns effectively and emphatically makes his claim as being the model for the coin:

When meeting visitors during the Great Northern exposition in Washington D.C., one year, he was approached by a U.S. congressman who gave Two Guns his business card. Two Guns reached into his pocket and retrieved an Indian head nickel, gave it the congressman and said, "Here is my card".

Here's the famous Indian head nickel:

Below is a short video from a 1926 Fulton Petroleum business film in which Chief Two Guns appears. You be the judge as to whether he was one of the models:



Long after his death, Chief Two Guns White Calf would once again gain national fame and become a symbol in American pop culture. Frustrated by the simple burgundy and gold "R" logo on the helmets of the Washington D.C. pro football team, Walter “Blackie” Wetzel submitted several design proposals to Redskins team owner Jack Kent Cooke in 1971. Wetzel thought that a depiction of a Native American would be a much better representation for the Redskins name. Born near Cut Bank in 1915, Wetzel grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation. As an adult he rose through the ranks of the Blackfeet tribal council, and in 1960 was elected as president of the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C. In 1972, after reviewing the various design proposals, the Washington Redskins adopted a new logo. The team ultimately chose the depiction of Chief Two Guns as their new logo, which would remain in place until 2020:

In recent years Wetzel's son, Donald, stated that his father "had a vision of putting a real Indian on that helmet." He also added, “The Native Americans were forgotten people. That logo, lets people know these people exist," and that "It's a symbol of red nation unity."



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world: