What's In A Smile?
If she can do it, so can you
I’ve always thought this was an amazing photo.
At first glance, it seems fake, but it’s part of a collection from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. The image is cropped, but the original identifies her as “O-o-be, a Kiowa woman.”
The image was taken at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1895. A letter from Dr. E.R. Rhodes, dated 3/28/60, states: “O-o-dee, daughter of Old Lady Blackowl, sister to Belle Hall, married to Red Buffalo Jim Davis, and to Koh-haw-day, and also to Allie Coty.”
I was curious to learn more, so I started digging. I found O-o-dee’s sister, Belle, on findagrave.com.
Now, findagrave.com is admittedly not the greatest of historical sources, but I also located Belle on a Kiowa census roll. The census lists Belle’s birth year as “about 1882” and that she was the mother of Pauline Hall and Fred Zotigh. This jives with findagrave.com, which gives Belle’s birth year as 1881 and lists both Pauline and Fred.
Here’s where things get interesting
Belle only has one sister listed on findagrave.com, Nannie “Muskogee” Tahloweah (1879-1947). And guess what? One of Nannie’s husbands is listed as Rev. Allie Coty Doya, as stated in the letter from Dr. Rhodes!
Could Nannie be the smiling girl???
I went back and checked the Kiowa census. I found a Nannie, no last name given, born circa 1886. She has a daughter, Lennie Doyah, born circa 1902.
Unfortunately, Lennie Doyah is not listed as a child on Nannie’s Findagrave. However, the girl’s last name IS Doyah. Nannie and Rev. Doyah WERE married circa 1902.
Could they have possibly had a child named Lennie, who died in infancy?
Nannie’s Findagrave lists five children. The oldest, Nellie, was born in 1905. All of the children have the Doyah surname.
I don't know, but I'm starting to think Nellie really is the smiling girl in the photo. I didn’t spend much time on this, but I’d love to see if any internet sleuths can dig up further info, especially an obituary.
If the smiling girl is indeed Nannie, she lived a long life.
The above image is Nannie's gravestone at the Cedar Creek Cemetery in Caddo County, Oklahoma.
"A tender mother and a faithful friend." I don’t know about you, but I’d say that’s a life well lived. Especially considering that she was raised in an extremely volatile period. Nannie was almost certainly born on a reservation. Her people were desperately trying to adapt to a new world as disease and poverty ran rampant. And yet, through it all, she still found a way to smile.
If she can do it, so can we.
So here’s to Nannie and O-o-be, whether they be one and the same or not. Thank you for sharing your smile with the rest of us.
But wait, there’s more!
If findagrave.com is accurate (it is very often NOT accurate), then Nannie’s grandfather was Satank, the famous Kiowa war chief and medicine man.
I spoke of Satank on the most recent episode of The Wild West Extravaganza. He was meant to stand trial in Texas with his compadre, Satanta. Rather than subject himself to such humiliation, he instead chewed his wrists to the bone, slipped out of his shackles, and attacked his guards. Oh, and by the way, he was 70!
The old warrior was able to wrench a rifle from one of the guards before he fell in a hail of bullets.
To learn more about Satank’s death and the death of his fellow Kiowa leader, Satanta, check out the most recent one from The Wild West Extravaganza!
UPCOMING
If you’re new to this newsletter, then you may not know that I host a podcast called The Wild West Extravaganza. Each week, we dive into a real-life person or event from the Old West—gunfighters, outlaws, Native Americans, frontiersmen, etc. I’ve got over a hundred episodes for you to choose from, available wherever you listen to podcasts.
I know everyone is busy preparing for the Holidays, so I’ll keep this short. I’m releasing a brand new episode (Black Jack Ketchum) on January 8th, 2025. If all goes as planned, this will be followed by a series on Jesse James.
Until then, I’ll be uploading a couple of re-runs. I hope you enjoy and I’ll see you next year!
Oh, and don’t forget to smile.
Cool info...
She has a lovely smile. Whoever she may have been.