SCLT July Program Features All-American Indian Days

On Tuesday, July 12, in a three-part program, Judy Slack, local historian, presented a talk on All-American Indian Days, and how it came about. It was in conjunction with the SCLT Explore History program about the Sheridan WYO Rodeo.

“I’ve been involved since I was about 6 years old. I also worked with Mrs. Enzi during the 60s and 70s. I have been working with All American Indian Days for several years.” Slack said.

She added that for several years, from the late 1880s, Sheridan and the town’s civic leaders had an on-going relationship with their Indian neighbors. “They have always paraded with us. The Crow Nation has come down for many years, and in the 1890s they did a reenactment of the Custer Battle the Northern Cheyenne Indian have also been involved in the Indian relay race.”

In one photo Slack displayed showed a rider holding the American flag, and the rider was Chief Medicine Crow. Another photo showed several Indians in the rodeo parade. But the Indians were not welcome everywhere.

Lucy Yellowmule was rodeo queen for one year, but she served Sheridan for two years, the second year she traveled extensively to promote the All-American Indian Days.

Joe Medicine Crow was involved with All-American Indian Days since its inception. He served as Master of Ceremonies from 1953-1984. He told about coming back from WWII, in uniform, and no one in Sheridan would serve him a hamburger except for Hamburger Louie, who was from Pakistan and knew about discrimination.

A newspaper reporter, with the pen name Neck Yoke Jones, was instrumental in starting All-American Indian Days to eradicate prejudice in Indian Country. In 1953, he met with Joe Medicine Crow and another Indian, Don Deernose. Medicine Crow and Deernose traveled throughout the west, inviting Indians show up on Friday of WYO Rodeo week that summer. Possibly as many as 4000 Indians showed up. Deernose also served on the committee for many years.

During the celebrations, there was a non-denominational church service, and many contests. Each year around 4500 Indians attended. They camped out on the fair grounds, and all around the Sheridan area.

All-American Indian days in Sheridan lasted 30 years and started when a young Crow girl won the title of Sheridan WYO Rodeo Queen in 1951, and one man decided to fight prejudice in his hometown.

The program ended with a special showing of Gregory Nickerson’s documentary “No Indians or Dogs Allowed? Sheridan, Wyoming and the Miss Indian America Pageant.”

The documentary will be shown again at the SCLT program on July 19, at 10:30 at the Tongue River Valley Community Center in Dayton.