Lean Bear

Lean Bear (Cheyenne name Awoninahku, 1813–1864), alternatively translated as Starving Bear, was a Cheyenne peace chief. He was a member of the Council of Forty-four, a tribal governance devoted to maintaining peace with encroaching United States settlers. Lean Bear's most notable peace deals include the Treaty of Fort Wise and a meeting with US President Abraham Lincoln. His work towards peace between his people and the American settlers in the Southern Plains were cut short when he was murdered by the 1st Colorado Cavalry Regiment and violent retaliations ensued.

Lean Bear suffered from vertigo, which commonly ran in the family. During a meeting with President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, he suffered an attack and spoke while seated in a chair. Lean Bear brushed it off as a result of him simply being too nervous to stand.

Lean Bear had a brother called Bull Bear. In 1864, Bull Bear was the leader of the Dog Soldiers, a position he would hold for many years.

Lean Bear also worked closely and served on the Council of Forty-four with fellow peace chief Black Kettle, especially in the last decade of his life.

The first known account in history of Lean Bear is in 1851. He was roughly 35 at this time. Agent Thomas Fitzpatrick was hosting a council in Fort Atkinson to convince plains tribes to attend a larger peace council at Fort Laramie later on. The Comanche, Kiowa, Apache, Arapaho, and Cheyenne people went out to meet the soldiers and each other. They feasted and traded goods. Fitzpatrick spoke with each group, and eventually convinced the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes to attend the next peace council. The other tribes refused, wary about bringing their horses up north near tribes that were notorious for stealing horses.

The troops were beginning to leave as the council ended when Colonel Sumner arrived at Fort Atkinson on his way to New Mexico. He stayed for a few days to trade and obtain some horses from the tribes in attendance. After some time, the tribes began to freely explore both the fort and his camp, and Fitzpatrick grew nervous at the opportunities for conflict. Lean Bear, who was in attendance at the peace council, was fascinated by the rings and bracelets on the hand of Sumner's wife and grabbed to get a better look. She reacted by pulling her hand back and screaming, provoking Sumner to rush forward to beat Lean Bear. Because Cheyenne culture considers striking even a male child to be an insult, Lean Bear was incredibly indignant about the assault. He painted his face and rode around his camp announcing his plans to attack the whites, inviting his brothers to join him. Fitzpatrick initially refused to make reparations until some Kiowas and Comanches told him that the Cheyennes were getting ready to attack. A meeting was later arranged for Colonel Sumner to present Lean Bear with a blanket in apology, which he accepted.

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