Blake White Bear

Blake White Bear was a Native American and a member of the Crow Tribe who competed in several demonstration events at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics as part of the widely denounced “Anthropological Days.” He won the 1-mile race and finished second in the 56-lb weight throw and the stone throw. White Bear’s tribal name was Esakakasha Manakis, which meant Crazy Dragon Fly.

White Bear was born in Montana to a father who was a member of the US Army cavalry. At age 14, after displaying significant intelligence early in school, he was accepted into the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania, where he starred in football. At age 17, in 1903, White Bear enlisted in the US Navy, probably falsifying his age. He hoped to visit foreign lands to better himself as a teacher and wished to return to the Crow Reservation and open a school for Native American children.

White Bear died near Hardin, Montana after he went missing in April 1941. His body was found 35 miles southwest of Hardin near Soap Creek in early June. The sheriff investigating the case surmised that he died of exposure from a snowstorm the night before Easter, and the inquest established the probable date of death as 30 April. He was interred at the Custer Battlefield National Cemetery.