Peter Thompson Good Boy

Good Boy was a Teton Sioux (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) man

Biography

Born in 1853 somewhere in Wyoming, (Curator Note: the January 21-23, 1920 census for Mellette County, South Dakota says Good boy ws born in Wyoming)

Our home on Native Lands

https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/yanktonai-2/

He is referred to in all census reports as Good Boy, the name Peter Thompson is ot revealed by census. The name appears to have been"assigned" as an approved agelization by the District Court of the Unitied States, District of South Dakota, Western Division, in the court papers for Peter Thompson Good Boy, Defendant, for his trial for horse stealing. He signs a letter Peter T. Good Boy, this letter is part of his medical file from Canton upladed here: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000196728249831

Good Boy was first sent to St. Elizabeth's in 1913. He was admitted to (transferred to) the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians on May 3, 1916 diagnosed with Constitutional inferiority (meaning obsessions, compulsions, etc.) Good Boy died at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians.

"Many patients at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians did not receive a formal hearing or doctor’s examination before being sent to the asylum. Authorities at least went through the motions with Peter Thompson Good Boy. He was accused of stealing a horse on the Rosebud Reservation, and spent some time in the Deadwood, SD jail while awaiting trial.

While the legal proceedings ramped up after his arraignment, Good Boy evidently developed some behaviors that his counsel (and others) said looked “as though he were mentally deranged.”

Good Boy was confined in jail from at least May 1913 to September 1913. His attorney asked the Commissioners of Insanity of Lawrence County, SD to give Good Boy a hearing to determine his mental condition, which they did. They adjudged “the said Peter Thompson Good Boy to be insane.”

The state hospital would not accept him, because he was a resident of a reservation and had been brought to jail by a United States Marshal.

For some reason which isn’t clear, Good Boy was sent to the Government Hospital for the Insane (St. Elizabeths) in Washington, DC rather than the asylum in South Dakota, which was much closer.

After being accused of horse theft, Peter Thompson Good Boy met an Insanity Commission in South Dakota and was adjudged insane. Oddly, he was sent to the government hospital in Washington, DC instead of the much closer Canton Asylum in SD. Good Boy asserted that because he pleaded “not guilty” to the theft charge, he was sent to an insane asylum far away. He accused a neighbor of instigating the maneuver, because Good Boy knew something about the neighbor’s criminal behavior.

No one in authority quite believed Good Boy, but two congressmen made inquiries on his behalf, as did a chaplain. Apparently, the authorities at St. Elizabeths had told one of the congressmen (Congressman McGuire) that if someone would take responsibility for Good Boy and give him proper attention, he could probably be released. The chaplain wrote to say that a former employer of Good Boy’s had offered him employment in Nebraska.

Horse-Stealing Mania:

"In November of 1912, Peter was charged with larceny on the Rosebud Sioux reservation where he resided; he had stolen two horses from two separate men, a crime he had allegedly committed once before, and after pleading “not guilty,” was remanded to the county jail until further instruction. At issue, according to a deposition made before the county’s insanity board, was Peter’s mental state." (Whitt, Sarah H. “False Promises: Race, Power, and the Chimera of Indian Assimilation, 1879-1934.” University of California, Berkeley, 2020.)

Additional inquiries were made on behalf of Good Boy, so that whoever wrote Good Boy’s case summary concluded: “In view of the various conflicting statements (some not included in this post) which we have regarding this man, it is quite impossible for us to definitely decide as to what should be done in this case. His past conduct here has been exemplary, and aside from his ideas concerning, Whipple [the neighbor], he has manifested no signs of psychosis.”from his ideas concerning, Whipple [the neighbor], he has manifested no signs of psychosis.”

"As Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota, Charles Morris, stated of Peter’s behavior at his earlier trial, Peter’s public defense lawyers “and others noticed that the said defendant acted as though he were mentally deranged and the facts were accordingly reported to the Court…the case was continued over the May 1913 term that investigation might be made of the mental condition of said Peter –.”80 This, evidently, was done, and Peter was removed for some unknown reason first to the federal psychiatric hospital in Washington, D.C., St. Elizabeth’s, and then subsequently to the Canton asylum, three years after this initial ordeal, on
May 3, 1916." (“Peter G—. B—. File,” RG 75, Series 2: Canton Asylum Individual Patient Files, 1910-1916, box 8, NARA-KC.)

After being transferred from St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Alvin spent the next two years in the Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians, pleading through his attorney and via other means to somehow be released. His federally-funded ‘treatment’ for Horse Stealing Mania took place over a period of nearly five years of incarceration.

Fortunately for us, Alvin turned into an in-house activist, fighting against the lead psychiatrist, Dr. Hummer about the treatment of his fellow inmates. I’d say he became rather a thorn in the Doctor’s side. He even attempted to smuggle a note out of the building to the Indian Commissioners to let them know what he was observing:

It was clever of him to write this in phonetic Lakota. However, Dr. Hummer was one step ahead. He intercepted the note and had it translated:

• “fix no building, employers paid but don’t do right, make sick people work, many of them die, wants take employers to Supreme Court, Entitled to use Supreme Court, employers using ‘Black Hand,’ sick persons do anything, could get mad & kill them, Take these men before Grand Jury, find these white people guilty, that’s why I told this, we are starving, have an inspector to come, want to talk to him, using us rough, wants them to copy this letter in English, wants them to use Commissioner of Indian Affairs to help”

I found both Alvin’s note and this translation in his medical file. I don’t know if the note ever made it out of the building...

Shortly after this note was written, Alvin was released by Dr. Hummer. Apparently, treatment of his Horse Stealing Mania had been a complete success. David, Walker. “HomeHorse-Stealing Mania: The Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians.” Mad In America, Mad in America Foundation, 14 Mar. 2015, www.madinamerica.com/2015/03/horse-stealing-mania-hiawatha-asylum-insane-indians/.
(Curator Note: In this description author David Walker refers to his protagionist with the pseudonym Alvin Abner Big Man, however there is no known person committed to the Canton Asylum with that name and the descriptions of events match those of Peter Thompson Good Boy. In Whitt, she refers to those committed with only an initial forhte surname. I dont know why there seems to be a sense of privacy along with the need to expose this absmial offshoot of the concept of assimulation of the Indian.)

The writer said that he would write to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs about the whole matter, and urged that Good Boy at least go to an institution nearer his home. Good Boy was transferred to the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians on May 3, 1916.

Peter Thompson Good Boy was sent to the Government Hospital for the Insane (St. Elizabeths) even though he lived in South Dakota and should logically have been sent to the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians. Except for his accusation that a neighbor had instigated his diagnosis and deportment, Good Boy displayed no signs of psychosis, exhibited exemplary behavior at St. Elizabeths, and had received an offer of employment. Nevertheless, he was transferred to the Canton Asylum in 1916 at the age of 39.

There, Dr. Harry Hummer diagnosed Good Boy with congenital “constitutional inferiority,” a condition meaning a person was below average physically or mentally. This diagnosis also implied that the person could not quite fit in or conform to the expectations of society, and/or had little moral discipline.

Good Boy had served three years in the Army and two years as an Indian policeman, then became a farmer and married. Earlier in life, he had been arrested and sentenced to serve five years in the penitentiary, but served only two years before being pardoned by the Governor [of SD]. While he was in prison, he had been trusted and given many privileges.

Patient notes at Canton Asylum state that Good Boy was clean and tidy, sociable, and friendly, but sometimes excitable and profane. He had a good memory, liked to read, liked to work, and though sometimes became very angry, “seemed good natured at heart.” Good Boy’s biggest issue at the asylum was that he talked “against the Superintendent, the attendants, and the place in general.” If Good Boy was not insane, his behavior was certainly understandable.

Fortunately, whether through the efforts of others or Hummer’s eventual decision that he could fit into reservation life, Good Boy was released from the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians in 1918. Unfortunately, his stay in jail and at the two insane asylums (May 1913 – 1918) was far longer than the two-year and three-year terms in the penitentiary that his two companions received for their part in the horse theft incident.

The case of Peter Thompson Good Boy shows how easy it was for a Native American to lose his freedom. It would be safe to say that few or no patients at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians actually wanted to be there. Patient Susan Wishecoby thought she was going to a hospital when she agreed to go; she apparently had epilepsy or something like it that gave her “spells” that were disruptive. She wrote plaintively that if she had known where she was going, she never would have agreed to come."

He was released from the Canton Asylum in 1918, suddenly and without explanation, although his continual in your face position with Dr. Hummerand Canton staff likely played a role, he died after February 27, 1928 (Curator Note: I've based the date of death on the fact that in 1928 he was involved in a land transaction, apparantly selling 640 acres of land allotments. Note however that the June 30 1924 Indian census shows a date of death of December 19, 1923)

Source: Joinson, Carla. Vanished in Hiawatha: The Story of the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians. University of Nebraska Press, 2016.
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Research Notes:
-Birth calculated from Patient File for Peter Thompson Good Boy @ https://catalog.archives.gov/id/140126831?objectPage=35
-See patient file uploaded to the media tab here: https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000196728249831
-Enlisted in the US Military at the Pine Ridge Agency, South Dakota, October 24, 1893, age 29, discharged December 10, 1894 Meade, South Dakota
-Date of admission to Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians May 3, 1916
-In the 1910 census from County of Mellette as part of the Rosebud Reservation(?) Good Boy then 56 had a wife named Half who ws 44, a daughter Edna 18, and living in the household his mother Marly (Marty) 78
-In the 1920 census from Mellette Township, SD, Good Boy was 67, had an unnamed wife who was 53, born in Wyoming, father and mother born in the United States. Mellette Township is located due east of the Cheyenne river Reservation, due south of Aberdeen, SD, therefore born c. 1853
-there is the possibility of confusion as there is another Goog Boy, wife named Jane Y. Crooked Hand, in the 1910 Kay County, Oklahoma census, however this one is born in Nebraska c. 1861. Indian census rolls show him as Ponca
-the 1906 census shows Good Boy with a wife Bob Tail Bird and a daughter Martha. Good Boy is shown as 49 years old giving him a birth day c. 1857. Wife was 46, (step)-daughter was 12.
-there is also a Daniel Good Boy with wife and son and daughter in Montana in the 1909 census of the
Assinniboin Indians of Fort Peck, Montana
-in the June 29, 1922 Standing Rock census of he Sioux there is a William Good Boy

Sources
1. Peter Thompson Good Boy is part of the https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Canton_Asylum study

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1893 Oct 24 - "United States Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDR-4H9T : 3 March 2021), Good Boy, 24 Oct 1893; citing p. 99, volume 090, Pine Ridge Agency, , South Dakota, United States, NARA microfilm publication M233 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 47; FHL microfilm 1,319,380., pg.366/587

1898 June 23 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGTF-LM1N : Tue Oct 03 12:47:38 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy, pg. 252/565, South Dakota Indian Census of the Brule Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Agency, South Dakota

1899 June 24 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7BSB-B5MM : Thu Oct 05 02:50:18 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy, pg. 289/565, census roll of the Rosebud Reserve (1899 census of Lower Brule transferred to this reservation begins on page 414).

1901 June 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGPN-GSTC : Wed Oct 04 04:47:52 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy, pg. 24/665, census of the Brule Sioux Tribe of the Rosebud Agency

1906 June 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7ZMX-38W2 : Wed Oct 04 11:31:50 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy, pg. 20/506, Indian census rolls of the Rosebud Sioux tribe Rosebud Agency, South Dakota

1910 - "United States Census, 1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPXY-9XY : Tue Oct 03 21:37:30 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy and Half Good Boy, 1910, pg. 509/1005

1918 Jyne 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7L1W-97MM : Thu Oct 05 13:03:27 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy, pg. 174/733, census of the Rosebud Reservation

1920 - "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6NB-5MS : Thu Oct 05 01:41:04 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy and Good Boy, 1920, pg 534/1143

1924 Jun 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:76T9-KKPZ : Thu Oct 05 15:09:43 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy, pg. 126/721, census of the Rosebud Sioux of the Rosebud Agency

1925 June 30 - "United States, Native American, Census Rolls, 1885-1940", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W9TS-466Z : Thu Oct 05 18:55:43 UTC 2023), Entry for Good Boy, pg. 659/894, census of the Rosebud Sioux of the Rosebud Agency

1928 February 27 - "United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1800-c. 1955", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KZT-WNL8 : 10 March 2023), Good Boy, 1928, pg 105/252, Purchased individual allotment of land 320 acres individual David Heese...