Sitting Bull called her Toya heya mani win (Woman Walking Ahead). In June of 1889, the widow, Catherine Weldon, a prominent artist and a member of the National Indian Defense Association, left her home in New York City to travel to the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakota Territory to meet Sitting Bull and help him keep the United States government from taking Lakota land. Sitting Bull was unable to read or write in English and welcomed Weldon's help.
Her reputation as a prominent white woman from the east became tainted due to her relationship with Sitting Bull, but it did not matter to her. She cared more about the treatment of the Indians than she did of her reputation. Determined to save Sitting Bull and his land she fought aggressively against the government. She moved in with Sitting Bull and his three wives. During her time with him, she wrote letters on his behalf and painted four portraits of him. One portrait hung in his cabin and is now in the possession of the North Dakota Historical Society.
James McLaughlin, the Indian agent for the reservation, and Weldon continually argued over her support for the Lakota. McLaughlin wrote a letter to the Commissioners of Indian Affairs stating that Sitting Bull has become more rebellious and feels certain that it is due to the encouragement of Weldon. McLaughlin eventually forced her to leave the reservation.
Weldon returned to New York. As she attempted to get back to her normal life, she could not stop thinking about Sitting Bull and the beautiful plains. She wrote McLaughlin asking him if she could return and promised that she would not live on the reservation, but live on its edge in a small town called Cannon Ball. Surprisingly, McLaughlin let her return with the understanding she cannot live on the reservation. In the spring of 1890, Weldon returned to the Midwest with her adolescent son, Christie.
Newspapers would refer to Weldon as Sitting Bull's "white squaw." How intimate their relationship became is unknown. However, Sitting Bull did ask her to marry him and she refused. It is no secret that Weldon felt compassion toward Sitting Bull and his people. She supplied money and goods to the Lakota to aide in their survivial.
The Ghost Dance Movement was crossing the plains in the late 1800s, a new religion that brought hope to many tribes throughout the Midwest. Sitting Bull and several of his Lakota followers believed in the Ghost Dance, that it would resurrect the dead and reunite them with those who died. It promised a return to the old ways of life. Weldon was unaware of Sitting Bull's involvement in this new religion.
The United States government felt threatened by the movement, afraid it would cause another Indian upheaval. Kicking Bear, Lakota Holy Man, encouraged the making of the Ghost Dance Shirt. He said the shirt, made of buckskin and painted with "magic" symbols, would prevent bullets from penetrating the body.
Weldon told Sitting Bull and other Lakota leaders that the Ghost Dance would not resurrect the dead, nor would the shirts keep bullets from penetrating the flesh. Sitting Bull and the others ignored Weldon's words and no longer considered her a friend of the Lakota. In fact, one Lakota told her that tragedy would find her because of her disbelief in the Ghost Dance. Weldon broken by the mistrust the Lakota people now had for her left the reservation and went back to Cannon Ball. There she and her son prepared to go to Kansas City.
While visiting the Parkin ranch Weldon's son stepped on a rusty nail and died on the steamship Chaska. She wrote a letter to Sitting Bull and told him of her son's death. From Kansas City, she wrote Sitting Bull more letters, asking him to forgive her, but never heard from him. She learned that on December 15, 1890 forty Sioux police went to the Standing Rock Reservation to arrest Sitting Bull. During the arrest, a struggle took place and a shot was fired; the situation became chaotic, leaving Sitting Bull and many others dead.
Weldon not afraid to travel west alone, live on an Indian reservation, and fight for the rights of Indians in the late 1800s made her a woman ahead of her time. The Indian name Sitting Bull gave her definitely suited her.
If you would like to read more about Catherine Weldon, check out Eileen Pollack’s book, Woman Walking Ahead: In search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull. And to read more about the Ghost Dance of 1890 check out Rex Alan Smith’s book, Moon of Popping Trees.
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