The Selective Service Act of May 18, 1917 required men between the ages of 21 and 31 to register for the draft by June 5, 1917. Being 24 at that time, Leon Boutwell registered on June 5, 1917. On August 2, 1917, The Tomahawk, a newspaper owned and operated by Gus Beaulieu primarily for residents of the White Earth Reservation, published a list of young Chippewa men selected for service in the military during the first WWI draft. Leon Boutwell was just one of many Chippewas selected. These men would have had to be citizens in order to be eligible for the draft. Non-citizens could enlist and many Indians did just that. In fact, A larger percentage of Indians than whites enlisted voluntarily.
An article on a different page of the August 2, 1917 edition of The Tomahawk reported that Leon Boutwell had enlisted in the army aviation corps, apparently to get an assignment more to his liking. In October, he was stationed at St. Louis, Missouri. The next March he was at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, apparently bored because the only excitement was an occasional airplane crash. At that time, he was assigned to the 14th Field Artillery Band. He and it remained at Fort Sill the duration of the war.
Leon Boutwell was far from the only Chippewa to be drafted for WWI as the list that follows illustrates and it is just the list for the first draft. Two other drafts followed, broadening the age range eligible to be conscripted from 21 to 30 to 18 to 45.
While researching Keewatin Academy, I stumbled across a mention of Leon Boutwell as having been drafted during WWI. Seeing that reminded me of the statement I’ve both seen and heard lately that Indians weren’t made citizens until 1924. How then could a non-citizen Chippewa Indian like Leon Boutwell be drafted?
The short answer is that Boutwell was a citizen as were many Indians. But how did he become a citizen? There were multiple ways for Indians to become citizens as listed by Wikipedia below:
Assimilation: Leaving tribal communities, adopting mainstream white American ways, or marrying a white U.S. citizen could also lead to citizenship, according to this YouTube video and this article from the Institute for Policy Research.
Why It Was Complicated:
The 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship didn’t automatically apply to Native Americans, as the Supreme Court ruled in Elk v. Wilkins (1884), explains this YouTube video and this article from the Maine Morning Star.
Many were considered “Indians not taxed,” living outside state jurisdiction and not fitting the standard definition of a citizen, reports this entry from Encyclopedia Virginia.
Richard Henry Pratt, founder and superintendent of Carlisle Indian School for 25, years urged not just his students but Indians in general to become citizens in order to acquire the full rights of being an American. Many were reluctant to do so because citizens were required to pay taxes, become eligible for military drafts, as well as for other reasons. Apparently, Boutwell or one of his parents did something to get him made a citizen. He listed himself as a natural-born citizen on his WWI draft registration card and answered “No” to “Do you claim exemption from draft?” So, he must have considered himself to be a citizen. But why?
His eligibility for Federal aid form, completed April 26, 1915 lists both his parents as citizens. His father, who was 1/16 blood Chippewa, owned no land but his mother, who was listed as being 1/3 blood (an unlikely percentage), owned 160 acres. Leon owned 80 acres at that time and had sold another 80 acres. This land ownership suggests that Leon’s parents and he became citizens after accepting allotments, which must have been quarter sections (160 acres). His father likely didn’t receive an allotment because he was only 1/16 blood and the requirement for eligibility was probably ¼ blood. His valuation of his mother’s land seems optimistic.
Adeline Boutang (left) with her parents and an unknown boy
In September of this year, 2025, I wrote about an investigation of ineligible students a Carlisle Indian School and about one of them, Addie Hovermale, an orphan, was allowed to stay at Carlisle in spite of being less than ¼ blood. Jim Gerencser, Dickson College Archivist, has informed me that Carlisle students went on outings to a Craighead family in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. A little research revealed that the host in question, James Barrett Craighead Jr., was a cousin of some sort to the local Craigheads. His grandfather, Rev. James Geddes Craighead, a brother of John Weakley Craighead, grew up on the Mansion Farm before embarking on a career as a minister and writer. John Weakley Craighead and two of his sons, Richard Reynolds Craighead and Charles Cooper Craighead, hosted a number of Carlisle students on outings over a few decades.
One of the students hosted by the Lansdowne Craigheads in 1911 was also on Charles F. Peirce’s list of ineligible students. Adeline Boutang spent her time with the Craigheads working for Mrs. Craighead, the former Marie Anthony, nursing her paralyzed mother,
Adeline first arrived at Carlisle on September 23, 1906 at 15 years of age, 5’¼” tall, and weighing 87 pounds. She claimed to be ¼ blood Chippewa through a half-blood father. After completing her three-year term of enrollment, she reenrolled for a second three-year term in 1909. It was during this term of enrollment and when she was on outing with the Lansdowne Craigheads that Adeline’s eligibility came into question. Peirce had determined that Adeline’s father was French and her mother was “…a mixed breed Chippewa, possibly ¼ Indian blood.” Adeline was listed on censuses as white. Being one 1/8 blood meant Adeline was ineligible to obtain education at a government Indian school and she would have to be returned to her home near Cass Lake, Minnesota.
Dependent on Adeline to care for her mother, Marie Craighead wrote Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs, pleading for Adeline to be allowed to stay with her. Considerable correspondence up and down the chain of command ensued, with Adeline being allowed to stay in Lansdowne until the end of her enrollment. She then returned home and got a job as a seamstress at Cass Lake. While working there, she requested a reference from Carlisle for the time spent studying nursing there. Friedman gave her a strong recommendation. She apparently competed her nurse’s training because she was working as a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Minneapolis in 1915.
She married a white man, Samuel H. McNutt in Cass County, Minnesota on June 27, 1917 shortly after his graduation from Iowa State University in veterinarian medicine. How they met isn’t known. When he registered for the WWI draft three weeks before his wedding, he claimed an exemption for an unstated physical disability. However, the 1950 Federal Census lists him as a WWI veteran. He later taught at the Universities of Wisconsin and Iowa. He and Adeline had a son and three daughters. She died in 1963 and is buried in Ames, Iowa and was always listed on censuses as white. After Adeline’s death, he worked on a Fulbright Fellowship in Egypt.
Little is known about what Lone Star did in 1920 before accepting the head coaching job for Purdue in early 1921. What is known is that he had no means to defend himself in the retrial—the first trial ended with a hung jury—and pled nolo contendere to a charge of falsifying his draft questionnaire. He entered the Spokane County jail to serve his 30 day sentence on January 8, 1920 and spent half of his sentence as a trusty. His trial and incarceration were covered by newspapers across the country but, then as now, most newspapers got it wrong by stating he pled guilty. The Greeley Tribune sarcastically commented on the trivial sentence by stating, “The next move is for Mr. Baker to give him the distinguished service cross.” Newton D. Baker was Secretary of War under President Woodrow Wilson.
However, few papers reported on Lone Star’s release after completing his sentence. Several newspapers not previously scanned have been added to the archives over the two decades since I researched Dietz’s life. At that time, nothing was found about his activities after being released from jail and accepting the head coaching position at Purdue nearly a year later. That has changed. A few new tidbits have been found on the pages of the more recently scanned papers.
The Anaconda Standard mentioned that he was a trusty the last two weeks of his confinement. Nearly a year later, The Seattle Star had him “…playing behind the footlights in Woodward’s New York theater.” The Wichita Beacon added that he “…also appeared on the stage in vaudeville a number of times…” The Spokesman Review included a first-hand interview, “John Jones, former graduate manager of athletics at Washington State, recognized Dietz on a stage in Washington, D.C., last October, and afterwards met him at his hotel. At that time Dietz, who was playing under a stage name, expressed a desire to remain incognito and Jones respected his wishes in this matter. His appearance in the New York theater, however, resulted in his discovery.”
Now we have more information about what Dietz was doing in the period after his release from jail in February 1920 and his signing with Purdue in March 1921. He was discovered acting under a stage name in October 1921 but was likely on the vaudeville circuit months earlier. He may have taken bit parts in movies as he had done earlier.
Now to find out what he was doing after leaving Rice Lake High School in 1901 and enrolling at Macalester College in September 1902.
In a February 1966 interview by The Canton Repository writer Charlie Powell, Joe Guyon shared his version of the often-told story of Knute Rockne’s crashing collision with Jim Thorpe in the November 1915 Canton-Massillon game. The difference in this telling of the tale is that Joe injected himself as “a blocking back” into the story:
“Thorpe returned to the huddle after Rockne stopped him for the second time at the line of scrimmage and turned to his would-be blocker [Guyon] and said, ‘You gotta push him inside. We run the play again, but you block like you have.’
“The blocker took the advice, goofing up purposely, and Rockne came barreling in to meet Thorpe. This time, though, Thorpe was ready and Rockne was sent flying.”
The rest of the telling followed familiar lines.
How could sportswriters and football historians have missed Joe Guyon’s presence in this game? His name didn’t appear in newspaper reports but that isn’t unexpected because players often appeared under assumed names. Fisher, for one example, was listed in the Canton line-up at right halfback but no one actually named Fisher was on the field. The other three in the backfield, Skeet Lambert, Jim Thorpe, and Carp Julian, were real people. Could Guyon have been playing as Fisher? Right halfback, wingback in the single and double wing formations Guyon and Thorpe ran at Carlisle Indian School under the tutelage of Pop Warner, was responsible for blocking the defensive end on an end sweep play. If Joe Guyon was playing as Fisher, this story could be true. But was Guyon able to play in the game?
In 1915, Joe Guyon was attending Keewatin Academy in Wisconsin and starred on its football team. That factor alone might have made his attendance impossible. Looking a little deeper, Keewatin played DePaul University in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day. After the game, Guyon would likely have had the rest of the week off school and could have made his way to Canton by Saturday to practice for the Sunday game with Massillon.
Jack Cusack was no help in determining if Guyon played. His recollection was that most players, other than Thorpe, played under assumed names. Profootballarchives.com includes a roster for the 1915 Canton Bulldogs. As expected, Fisher wasn’t listed but Don Peters a 220-pound fullback from Carlisle Indian School was. However, Carlisle Indian School files include nothing about Don/Donald Peters. It might have been Joe Guyon but Pete Calac played fullback and played for Canton after leaving Carlisle at the end of the 1916 football season. Carlisle’s 1915 season ended on Thanksgiving Day, leaving him time to go to Canton, Ohio if he could slip away.
Researchers with The Professional Football Researchers Association disagreed in their article, “Thorpe Arrives: 1915”: “Most Cantonites quickly discovered that ‘Fisher’ was really Earle ‘Greasy’ Neale, the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan.” Unfortunately, the authors of that 15-year-old article have died so we can’t ask them any questions. We may never know for certain who set up Rockne for Thorpe to annihilate.
While searching for information on Carlisle Indian School students who had transferred to Keewatin Academy, I came across a file about ineligible students at Carlisle Indian School from 1911. Sixty-nine names were listed but none of them had a relationship with Keewatin. Typically tribes and government programs require the person to be ¼ blood to be eligible. Most on the list were 1/8 blood or less. Some were from Canada and Mexico. Only American Indians were eligible for enrollment at Carlisle. Correspondence in the file concerning one of the ineligible students caught my eye.
Charles F. Peirce, Supervisor in Charge at Fond du Lac Indian School in Cloquet, Minnesota, took the time to investigate the situation of one girl on the list. Addie Hovermale, 14 at the time, was 1/8 blood Assineboine through her mother, who was dead. Her white father was in an insane asylum when she enrolled at Carlisle on August 30, 1910. She had lived with her elderly, white grandparents in Minneapolis since she was three.
Peirce found the couple barely able to support themselves. Not destitute but not far from it but unable to handle an additional mouth to feed and body to clothe. He thought she would have to be sent out to work if she was returned to her grandparents.
Her grandmother wrote Moses Friedman, Superintendent of Carlisle Indian School:
“We cannot have her come here in this wicked and cruel city. Please see that she is kept there to work and learn something as I have done all I can for the present time.I have nothing to look forward to as her father has passed away and I did not tell her he passed away the 2nd of last November. The little girl knew before she started away that her father was miserable.
“Please look after her. I know she will be taken care of as I know this is a good school. She is fatherless and motherless dear child.”
Friedman wrote the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, telling him of Addie’s grandmother’s letter and of his personal investigation and his recommendation:
“It is also believed that the Indian Office does not wish to have this young Indian Girl turned loose in a city where her aged grandmother can not care for her and where she would not have a chance to receive training of any use to her, and for the reason that I believe the girl is entitled to the protection of the United States Government, I recommend that the instructions contained in Office letter of May the 16th be waived in so far as this girl is concerned.”
The Commissioner of Indian Affairs decided to allow Addie Hovermale to stay at Carlisle. When her term of enrollment was completed in 1915, the school re-enrolled her for a two-year term. After graduating in spring 1917, she applied for admission to a nursing program in Philadelphia. She was still a student in the nursing program when Carlisle closed on August 31, 1918.
Addie lived a full life. She married William Sanders in 1924 and lived with him in Shelbyville, Indiana until his death in 1972. She then moved to Poplar, Montana to be near some of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren near the Fort Peck Reservation. She died in 1983 at age 84.
To what extent did Carlisle serve as an orphanage?
September is going to be a busy month with the football season and some events being held honoring players I’ve written about.
🗓️ Louisville Event Schedule – September 16–17, 2025 Honoring Joe Guyon
📍Tuesday, September 16 – 6:00 PMFrazier History Museum 829 W Main St, Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 753-5663 An evening program celebrating Joe’s life and contributions as part of the museum’s Cool Kentucky exhibit.
📍Wednesday, September 17 – 9:00 AMResthaven Memorial Park 4400 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40218 (502) 491-5950 A short graveside ceremony to honor Joe as the Pro Football Hall of Fame Medallion is officially presented and installed on his headstone.
📍Wednesday, September 17 – 12:05 PMLouisville Slugger Field 401 E Main St, Louisville, KY 40202 (502) 212-2287 Join us for Joe Guyon Day at the Ballpark, celebrating his years with the Louisville Colonels. A Guyon family member may throw out the first pitch, and there may be live interviews with family on the radio during the game.
Native American and former Washington Redskins star Jason Buck has voiced his support for returning the team name from Commanders to the one he helped win Super Bowl XXVI in January 1992 with. Some years he played defensive end, the Super Bowl year he was at defensive tackle in the against the Buffalo Bills. Jason has become outspoken regarding the Redskins issue. He told Fox and Friends:
“I’m a Native American, so I’m a real Redskin and a proud one. The Redskin is our name. The first written record of the use of the word Redskin was from a Native American chief from the Illinois tribe… writing to a British military colonel about us, the Redskins. It’s our word. The European words are Indian and savage and now indigenous.”
He also told TMZ Sports he wants to talk to Trump about the name and would tell him:
“Just stand with us and stand for common sense and help us. Help me bring the Redskin people back in, completely into the fold of the United States, so we can fix their system and have them enjoy the exact principles of the Constitution given to us by God and our founding fathers … Let’s, let’s make sure that our Redskin brothers that helped build this nation have the same exact opportunities and blessings.”
Buck described the team’s name change: “It’s like your grandma passed away, and your grandpa marries a new woman, and she comes in and takes all the pictures out of the house and puts hers up. It’s like, you just lost your family. It was devastating to everybody.”
Buck has associated with Native American Guardians Association (NAGA), a group of Native Americans that lobbies for the return of the Redskins name, as a member of their board of directors.
President Trump has resurrected the Redskins controversy. He picked this time because the team is requesting approvals to build a new stadium on the site of old RFK Stadium, which has been demolished. In April of this year, the team and the DC government, which holds a 99-year lease on the site, announced plans to build a $3.7 B stadium on the site. A Washington Post article reported that the D. C. Council had advanced the project on August 1. $1B would come from public funds and another $1B in tax breaks for the team. The team would pay $1 a year for 30 years to use the facility. After that, they would pay unstated full rent. An ESPN article that day put the team’s investment at $2.7B plus the cost of overruns. It is yet to be seen how the financial arrangement would work out.
In July, President Trump threatened to hold up the new stadium deal unless the team reverts back to using Redskins as its name again. Although wanting to retain the Commanders name, owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer have been warning business associates privately that the President does have some leverage over the stadium. What might that leverage be?
Advancement of the plan does not mean approval. It will need approvals from US agencies such as the National Capital Planning Commission and the US Commission of Fine Arts, both of which have Trump appointees on their boards. It will also need to be approved by the Trump administration’s environmental team.
D. C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelsohn told a local radio station, 106.7 The Fan, that he would have no problem with the name change and thought the city would welcome the team back if it was renamed. He cited past opposition to the Redskins name had more to do with the widely disliked owner Dan Snyder than the team name.
The Native American Guardians Association (NAGA) has been arguing for retaining Indian team names for several years. Their motto, “Educate not Eradicate,” fears eliminating team names is just another means of eradicating Indians. They cite polls of Native Americans in which 90% of respondents have no problems with Redskins. NAGA finds Commanders as representing oppressors.
On Saturday in a discussion with football historians, the topic of Avery Brundage’s mistreatment of Jim Thorpe came up. A possible factor in Brundage’s attitude might have been the defeat of a Brundage by former Carlisle Indian School star Frank Cayou in a track meet held at the University of Illinois in 1900. It seemed unlikely that Avery would have been the Brundage who was beaten because of his age. However, the high school phenom was posting times that would have been competitive.
I had discovered this factoid over a decade and a half ago but found nothing more about the losing runner at the time. Last night, I decided to take another look at it with the improved digital resources available now that didn’t exist back then. I started by going to Google and searching on “brundage cayou 1900.” The search engine returned the following:
Frank Cayou defeated a runner named Brundage in a track meet held at the University of Illinois on April 28, 1900
It is believed that this Brundage was Avery Brundage, who would later become a prominent figure in the Olympic movement. Avery Brundage was still in high school at the time but was already competing at a high level.
I then searched Newspaper.com for “brundage cayou” for publications in 1900 in the state of Illinois. Thirty-nine results were returned with several of them from The Daily Illini, the University of Illinois’ school newspaper. Sure enough, Brundage and Cayou sometimes competed against each other but other times were listed in different events but all of the time were on the same team. Both were enrolled at Illinois!
A serendipitous tidbit on these results was the inclusion of a listing of the newspaper’s staff. One of the reporters was M. D. Brundage ’02. Searching the 1902 yearbook on the University’s site, revealed that M. D. Brundage was on both the newspaper staff and the track team. So, Avery Brundage was not the Brundage Cayou beat. However, I still didn’t have the Brundage’s full name because the yearbook didn’t include it. The school’s catalogue divulged a Martin Denman Brundage had graduated in 1902. We finally have the name of the Brundage who Frank Cayou defeated.
It does not appear Martin was closely related to Avery, so it is unlikely Martin’s defeat by a Carlisle Indian shaped Avery Brundage’s opinions of Jim Thorpe.
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