This Native American bow and arrows belonged to May Cook, the sculptor who made the statue at the intersection of Yoctangee Park and Paint Street. They were given to her by Chief Thundercloud, a Native American artist's model.
Chief Thundercloud was the professional name of Dominique de Plante, born in 1857 in Northwest Canada. His origin story varies somewhat. According to some, his mother was full-blooded Sioux and his father was half Chippewa, half French.
His family moved to Minnesota or Montana when he was a child, and he claimed affiliation with the Blackfoot tribe. He may have worked as a scout for the US government, and may have been part of the Buffalo Bill Show, but there is no documentation for either.
He took the name Chief Thundercloud and became an artist’s model, traveling to New York and other location to pose in the style of Native Americans of various tribes. Many famous artists worked with him, including Frederic Remmington, John Singer Sargent, and Thundercloud may have been the model for the Indian head gold pieces.
In 1896, he married Hattie Hashagan, a New York City artist and Vassar graduate. Hattie was an artist, and Thundercloud may have been posing for her when they met. Their marriage made the papers across the United States. They made their home at Dingman’s Ferry, Pennsylvania. He owned and operated a store where he made and sold Native handicrafts on Route 209.
In 1911, he traveled to Columbus Ohio to pose for May Cook. He likely gave her the bows and arrows at that point, including an unpainted plain wood bow that was labeled as having belonged to him as a child.
In 1916, he died of tuberculosis. He’s buried in Dingman’s Ferry.
