History 605: S1, Ep 7 "The Education of Clarence Three Stars"

By Ben Jones

Published September 13, 2021 at 4:19 PM CDT

Ways To Subscribe

Apple
Spotify
RSS

Student file of Clarence Three Stars (Packs the Dog), a member of the Sioux Nation, who entered the school on October 6, 1879 and ultimately departed on October 6, 1884. The student did not attend the school continuously, but left and reentered. The file contains student information cards, former student response postcards, a news clipping, and a report after leaving. The file indicates Three Stars was the State's Attorney for Bennett County in Martin, South Dakota in 1913.

How did Clarence Three Stars, a son of the Lakota warrior Yellow Knife, navigate the profound cultural transition from the 1860s to the 1920s? In this episode, Dr. Jones and guest Phillip Burnham discuss this man's fascinating circumstances and how he navigated life from the Oglala in Dakota Territory to Carlisle Indian school to working in Philadelphia and back to Pine Ridge in South Dakota. A contemporary of Luther Standing Bear, Clarence Three Stars reveals more about the complexities of his circumstances in this conversation about his life. The article won the Schell Prize and can be found at: South Dakota History Journal, Vol 50, No. 2. SDHSPress.com/journal/South-Dakota-Journal-50-2