Life Story of Old Man Chipps

by Ellis Chipps   

 

Originally printed in Pute Tiyospaye (Lip’s Camp), The History and Culture of a Sioux Indian Village, written and compiled by students and faculty of Crazy Horse School, Wanblee, South Dakota, 1978

Before he was born he knew he was going to be born. The Spirits took him for four days and four nights all over the land. The Spirits were looking for spiritual things for him. He was in the sky for four days and on land four days. He was told by the spirits that he was to die at the age of eighty. (Each of the four days stood for ten years.)

They took him to a tipi and there was a man and a woman inside. They had no children. The spirits pushed him inside, and after this happened, he didn’t remember a thing until he was born.

Before he reached the age of five, his parents died. At the age of five he started performing miracles. He realized that he was a Holy Man at the age of 12. It took him a half hour to get a hundred miles in one night (if he was needed.) He returned the same night.

When he was about 17 years old, his friend was Crazy Horse. He gave him the power that was to protect him from bullets. Crazy Horse was not a medicine man; he was a warrior. He fiercely hated the white man.

During the Custer battle, he didn’t use bullets; all he used was a tomahawk. Crazy Horse and his band were then situated in the Black Hills. They did not want to leave from there, but Red Cloud and Spotted Tail wanted to be the leaders, so they were actually responsible for killing Crazy Horse.

The other powers Chipps had was curing people and “finding things.” Finding things is a ceremony held for three nights and on the fourth night he will tell you the location. He can also cure people that have had strokes and are paralyzed. This ceremony is held during the day. Wherever he lives, he has a long pole on top of his tipi. At the top of this pole he keeps his sacred flags; red, white, yellow, blue and black.

He had two wolves as pets. They used to sleep during the day and at night go out and get meat for him.

Ellis Chipps

The Sioux National Anthem

“The Honoring of Old Glory”

Tonkasila yapi tawapha kihan oehanke sni he najin kte iyohlate Lakota kihan wicicagin kta ca he ca mu welo.

Grandfther flag without end, it shall stand so that the Indian will multiply underneath.

Jim Emory , who is a Sioux Indian from Rosebud, had this song made in 1953. The tune came from a very old song to which words were added. Mr. Emory was not satisfied with the song so in 1954, he and Ellis Chipps revised it to what it is today.