John Woodenlegs

Who was John Woodenlegs?

John Woodenlegs was an author, educator, and the tribal president of the Northern Cheyenne from 1955 to 1968. In 1975, he founded Chief Dull Knife College, a community college located in Lame Deer, Montana.

Woodenlegs was the grandson of Wooden Leg, who fought against General George A. Custer’s troops at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. During his life, Woodenlegs also worked as a cowboy, road worker, coal miner and rancher. He was also the first American Indian to receive an honorary degree from the University of Montana.

Whitney Smith, a U.S. vexillologist, credits Woodenlegs with having designed the flag of the Northern Cheyenne, which was approved for display in 1964. In 1967, Woodenlegs was the sole American Indian member of the National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty convened by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

A quote from Woodenlegs appears in Going Rogue by Sarah Palin, though she mistakenly attributes it to basketball coach John Wooden.