Chief Thunderbird

Photo By Carl Moon

Thunderbird, the Cheyenne Indian, motion-picture actor and technical adviser, knew that Indian costumes may be spectacular enough to suit almost any movie director and still keep a high degree of historical authenticity. For that reason his personal costume, presented to the Southwest Museum by Mrs. Thunderbird as a memorial to her husband, has ethnological as well as spectatular value. Every article is in perfect condition. There are three fine eagle-feather war bonnets in the collection, one a magnificent creation with a long sweeping trailer, the headpiece decorated with beadwork and a clever imitation of ermine skins. Another, similar, has a handsome headpiece but no trailer; while the third has the cap decorated with buffalo-horns and a single line of feathers extending from the crown down to the trail-piece. This buffalo-horn war bonnet, which once belonged to Thunderbird's uncle, Buffalo Grass, was acquired from Thunderbird by Dr. Spencer R. Atkinson, who has generally presented it to the Museum in order that it may continue to be a part of Thunderbird's costumes. The shirt is of heavy deerskin fringed and decorated with beaded strips; but the leggings and breechcloth are missing. We are told that, as the Indians say, "Thunderbird took the leggings with him." In other words he was buried wearing them. 

Master Key is The Booklet Published by The SouthWest Museum in Los Angeles,CA

The moccasins are a fine full-beaded pair; the robe, made of blue strouding, is decorated with a wide beaded "blanket strip", the vest is full-beaded with traditional patterns. Accessories are a tomtom of tambourine type decorated with painted designs and provided with a beating stick; a pipe bag decorated with beads and quills; a red stone (catlinite) pipe with a quilled stem; three dance whistles decorated with down feathers; a shell disc ornament of the type called "moon-shell", a necklace of brown "hair-pipe" bone beads; plus three choker collars of small hair-pipe bone beads, blue glass and brass beads, one decorated with miniature "moon-shells." A beautifully finished bow and a sheaf of arrows, together with a rare photograph of the "main Cheyenne camp 40 miles northeast of the Camp Supply, on Cimarron River, 1870" (which Thumderbird noted as his "hometown"), complete the Thunderbird Memorial Collection. Six of the arrows mentioned are an adaptation of the Plains Indian type, there are similar, but provided with commercial heads; besides which there are two Mexican Indian arrows and one that looks Asiatic, perhaps Chinese. Thunderbird (No-nu-ma), a member of the Cheyenne tribe, was born August 6, 1866, his father being Ho-doah-nocco (Buffalo Bear) and his mother Doah-hkh-mayo (Buffalo Wallow). According to information supplied bu his wife, he inherited membership in a sacred order known as "White Light People", or "Order of the Sun Man." While still a child he was chosen by the elders for training as a priest of the Order. He passed away April 6, 1946