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History Post-confederation (1867-)

Tom Three Persons

Legend of an Indian Cowboy

by (author) Hugh A. Dempsey

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Oct 1997
Category
Post-Confederation (1867-), Native American, Native Americans
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781895830088
    Publish Date
    Oct 1997
    List Price
    $18.50

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Description

Tom Three Persons became a successful rancher at a time when Canadians did not expect Indians to succeed. His even greater claim to fame was in the rodeo arena—at the first Calgary Stampede in 1912 he won a world championship in bronc riding, and was the only Canadian to achieve a championship in any major event at the stampede. He became a hero, took up calf roping, and inspired generations of Blood Indians to success in the rodeo arena. But there was a dark side—Tom Three Persons carried out vendettas against neighbours, drank too much, abused his wives, and was said to have had no natural children who reached adulthood.

 

About the author

Hugh Dempsey is an author, historian, and researcher. He is the former associate director of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, and is currently its chief curator emeritus. He is also the editor of the quarterly Alberta History. Dempsey was made an honorary chief of the Kainai Blackfoot in 1967 and in 1975 was invested as a member of the Order of Canada. He is the author of more than twenty books, including The Great Blackfoot TreatiesMaskepetoonFirewater, and Crowfoot.

Hugh A. Dempsey's profile page

Editorial Reviews

[Three Persons'] life is an exposé of the racism and greed that underlay the appropriation of the west.

The Globe and Mail

Believers say that mysteries surround the life of Alberta's first rodeo world champion, while others claim he was purely an ordinary man ... Whether, as Dempsey writes, Three Persons' Success was "the result of hard work, management, a spirit helper, or the Devil, all depends on who you talk to and what they believe." ... Dempsey, as he has done in many of his books, skillfully incorporates documentary and oral history to write a fascinating biography.

NEWEST Review

This is an interesting and accessible piece of western history.

Saskatoon Star-Phoenix