Sam Hocą́gᵋxétega Blowsnake (abt. 1874)

Born about 1874 in Wisconsin, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Emma (Sine) Blowsnake — married 16 Sep 1907 in Thurston, Nebraska, United States

Died [date unknown] in Wisconsin, United States

Sam was Ho-Chunk.

Biography

Sam Blowsnake is Notable.

Birth

Sam was born about 1874 in Wisconsin to Charles Wąwąracąkega Blowsnake and Lucy Nąwazógᵋwįga Goodvillage.

Name

His Hocąk name was Hocą́gᵋxétega, "Big Winnebago", from Hocąk, "Winnebago"; xéte, "large, big, old"; and -ga, a definite article suffix used in personal names. Lurie says (97), "According to Mountain Wolf Woman, this curious name was bestowed by his maternal grandmother, an unusual but not unheard of variation on the traditional pattern of naming children after the paternal clan. The grandmother was one of the last representatives of a family line which claimed to be of pure Winnebago descent. Although her own children and grandchildren were of mixed descent, she wished to commemorate the fact of her ancestry in the name of at least one grandson."

Marriages

Ca. 1897, Sam's paternal grandfather selected a woman to be Sam's first wife. Since she was not a virgin, she was ultimately rejected, and the marriage was annulled. (CT 127-129)

Sam was next married to Ida. (1905 census) While he was living with Ida, he took another wife, Emma Sine. He did not take these marriages seriously. At some point, Ida left him, but before she left, she ritually poisoned him, but Sam was able to use a curative rite to counteract her magic. "From that time on I began to live with as many women as I could, for I had developed the idea that I was a lady-killer." (CT 133) "I never married any woman permanently. I would live with one for awhile, and then with another." (CT 148)

After his conversion to Christianity, his marriage with Emma stabilized. He had the following children with her:

Florence (b. 10 December 1912) (1914 census)

Jasper (b. 25 Apr 1921)

Stella May (b. 20 July 1926)

The 1940 census lists Henry Whitebear as a nephew living with them and a cousin of Sam's, Arthur Lightning.

Residence

1940 — Sam, Emma, Stella and two relatives were living in Brooklyn, New York. However, he gave his residence as Black River Falls, Wisconsin. (1940 census)

Sources

• 1905 Indian census; Roll: M595_671; Line: 5. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1910 Indian census; Roll: M595_671; Line: 5; Agency: Wittenberg. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1911 Indian census; Roll: M595_570; Line: 15; Agency: Tomah Indian Ind'l School. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1914 Indian census; Roll: M595_570; Line: 13; Agency: Tomah Ind School. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• Nebraska, U.S., Select County Marriage Records, 1855-1908; Library and Archives of the Nebraska State Historical Society; Lincoln, Nebraska.
• 1933 Indian census; Roll: M595_571; Page: 8; Line: 1; Agency: Tomah Indian School. Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M595, 692 rolls); Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
• 1940 Federal Census for New York, Kings, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02568; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 24-864 (NEW YORK CITY, BROOKLYN BOROUGH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 8 (TRACT 71 - PART)). United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls.
• CT — Sam Blowsnake (ed. Paul Radin), Crashing Thunder. The Autobiography of an American Indian (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983 [1926]).
• Nancy O. Lurie (ed.), Mountain Wolf Woman, Sister of Crashing Thunder: The Autobiography of a Winnebago Indian (U. Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1961).
• Richard Dieterle, The Encyclopedia of Hočąk (Winnebago) Mythology > Contributors.