Dr. Thomas Whitecloud, 1914-1972, an Indian "in the truest sense."
He wanted to be a second Jack Dempsey but became a doctor instead. Dr. Whitecloud called himself a half-breed but was "really more Indian" than anything else. He came to Newton in 1949 with his wife and three children. His wife was also part Indian. His father was a member of the Chippewa tribe and went to Carlisle on an Indian scholarship to study law. He was an outstanding football player and left college with a law degree. He went on to coach at Villanova College but before he died he returned to the reservation in Minnesota.
Dr. Whitecloud also got his education on an Indian scholarship and was planning on returning to his people but government red tape and bureaucratic road blocks led him to change his mind. He got his degree in 1943 and is believed to be the first Native American graduate of Tulane University. He practiced medicine and surgery in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and was a famous writer of Indian stories and poems.
Why he landed in Newton is unclear but in 1949 Newton County needed someone to head up their newly organized Newton County Memorial hospital and he answered the called. He and his family lived in that institution until he and it were well established before he resigned to open his own office. His wife had a sociology and education degree and worked with parent-teacher and Eastern Star while they were here. His older son, Tommy, later became a doctor.
Dr. W. was a man of strong principles and a desire to work with the youth. He organized the boys of Newton (8-13) and taught them to be "Texans as other people expect Texans to be." Their t-shirts and sweat shirts proudly proclaimed them to be-"Junior Texans of Newton County." He taught them to box, play ball and engage in football with other youngsters their age. The aim of the organization was to build them into men Newton could be proud of when they went out into the world on their own. He said, "We've no room in our organization for mama's boys-they've got to be tough-the tougher they are the better we like them."
Dr. Whitecloud believed that Newton's greatest export was their youth since there was little for them to do in Newton when they graduated and usually had to leave to find work. He also was fighting his own private battle. In 1951 he underwent surgery for a malignancy. He learned to cherish each day without a return of that condition.
Admired by many, especially the young boys he had worked with, they were greatly saddened to hear of his death in 1972 at the age of 58. He had left Newton by then and returned to work with his people. He continued to work with the youth of his people. Upon his death, a friend, Mark Small, wrote of him, "He was a chief in the truest sense because he led without worrying about authority or the importance of his own self." He was a true po-ye-da (friend).
Dr. Whitecloud wrote Blue Winds Dancing as well as other stories. Blue Winds Dancing is about a young man's struggle to exist in ancient and modern America. It is a lyrical account of his journey home. This piece is widely taught in university literature classes. It is noted for its acceptance, by its lyrical prose, and its imagery and social observances.
Son Tom was also a gifted football player and upon graduation from Louisiana College in Pineville, La. In 1962, Coach Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers invited him to training camp. But he declined to follow in his father's footsteps in the study of medicine at Tulane University.
Much more could be said about this admired man and his approach to life. However, his legacy is children and that legacy is continuing through the next generations.