Other presidents during Hidatsa Chief Old Dog’s lifetime included Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt. He was a respected leader of his tribe, someone whose advice was willingly sought. Old Dog never spoke English, preferring the traditional Gros Ventre, later Hidatsa, dialect.

In 1922, perhaps recognizing traditions of Plains Indians were becoming lost in an era of rapid change, Old Dog consented to recording his war medicine song. It was a song the prominent chief sang before a battle.

Old Dog’s father was Many Bears. His mother, Sweet Grass. Old Dog and his wife, Many Dances, had six children. One of them, Yellow Eagle, or Martin Cross, went on to become a long-time chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes and was known for fighting to protect his people’s rights.

Marilyn Hudson, Parshall, is a daughter of Cross and granddaughter of Old Dog. Old Dog passed away at 57 years of age, several years before Hudson was born, but she took a great deal of interest in her grandfather’s life and accomplishments.

This photograph of Hidatsa Chief Old Dog, in Fox Society dress, was taken in the early 1900s. He was born in 1851 at Like-A-Fish-Hook Village, which is now underneath the waters of Lake Sakakawea.

“He was often called upon for advice and such by the Hidatsa people in the area,” said Hudson. “Unfortunately I didn’t know him. It was an era when a lot of federal policies were established. Indian people were settled on allotments.”

Hudson grew up on the land originally allotted to Old Dog along the Missouri River.

“It was 160 acres pretty close to the river,” recalled Hudson. “It was the elbow in the river, the bend that went from the north to the east. That’s where the name Elbowoods comes from.”

Old Dog’s status as chief and the era of modernization meant that much of his latter life was recorded in written history. Many photographs were taken of him as well. Through it all though, he maintained as much of the Hidatsa traditional way of life as possible while transitioning to be in compliance with federal policies.

“He went into ranching and farming and became pretty self-sufficient,” said Hudson. “One of the things that was really interesting though was when the Indian Citizenship Act was passed in 1924.”

The Indian Citizenship Act granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. Old Dog declined, saying, “I do not want the white man’s offer of citizenship. I have lived a long life and I have seen many of the Great White Father’s promises vanish on the winds. I do not need the white man’s government to tell me that I am free.”

(Prairie Profile is a weekly feature profiling interesting people in our region. We welcome suggestions from our readers. Call Regional Editor Eloise Ogden at 857-1944 or call 1-800-735-3229. You also can send email suggestions to eogden@minotdailynews.com.)