Jackson Sundown Memorial
Memorial dedicated to Jackson Sundown by Gladys Rae Swank
Lewiston, Idaho – Mrs. Adeline Adams of Ronan participated in the dedication of a memorial to her father, the late George Jackson, a Nez Perce Indian, better known in rodeo circles as Jackson Sundown.
During the ceremonies, conducted at the Nez Perce Indian Cemetery on Mission Creek, Mrs. Adams unveiled the monument at her father’s grave, which had been proposed and financed by the Nez Perce Indian Nation Athletic Association and the Tribal Council.
Sundown’s grave lies in a beautiful setting, typical of the country as it was during the years he spent here before and after he resided on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. The grave site overlooks the Slickpoo Children’s Home, on the old Mission grounds, and the church where he embraced the Catholic faith when Father Cataldo presided at the Mission at the turn of the century.
Marcus Ware, Lewiston attorney, a former member of the Lewis-Clark Trail Association and Indian historian, told the some 150 persons present that Jackson was never thought of as a warrior in the Nez Perce Indian War of 1877. At the age of 14 he was, however, with Chief Joseph in his flight from the valley in an attempt to escape General Howard and reach Canada by way of Montana.
After the war, Jackson settled on the Flathead Reservation, and it was not until 1900 that he returned to the valley to make his home, marry and raise a family.
Lending atmosphere to the dedication was the Rev. Michael O’Malley, assistant pastor of St. Aloysius Church, Spokane, who was at the mission with Father Cataldo when Jackson was baptized.
Father O’Malley talked first in the Nez Perce tongue, then he spoke in English.
Richard Halfmoon, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Council, and Father O’Malley escorted Mrs. Adams to the headstone when she unveiled the memorial.
“It is fitting that Jackson be memorialized by members of his tribe, in the setting he so devoutly loved,” said Theodore Little, tribal attorney and master of ceremonies for the event.
The great Indian who won the world bucking championship at Pendleton, Ore., in 1916, atop the celebrated horse, “Angel”, is also memorialized at Denver, Colo., and in Radio City, New York, where statues stand in his honor. The Pendleton Roundup traditionally gave a “Jackson Sundown” saddle to the top cowboy at the annual roundups.
At the age of 50 Jackson made some of his best exhibition rides, and when he won the world championship he was 53. The man was always stately and courteous, had strong features and perfect teeth, and it’s said he sat a horse with such nonchalance that the crowds went wild.
After 1916 and until his death Jackson spent most of his life on a Salmon River ranch where he helped train horses. He died of pneumonia at his home near the Mission in December of 1923.
The article above appeared in The Sunday Missoulian on May 21, 1967. It was accompanied by two photographs. The captions for the photos appear below:
Memorial To Great Indian Rodeo Star, Jackson Sundown, is unveiled by his daughter, Mrs. Adeline Adams of Ronan, at ceremonies at his grave in the Nez Perce Indian Cemetery on Mission Creek, near Lewiston, Idaho. With Mrs. Adams is the Rev. Michael O’Malley, assistant pastor of St. Aloysius Church in Spokane, and Richard Halfmoon, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Council.
Early Laborer in Idaho missions, the Rev. Michael O’Malley, assistant pastor of St. Aloysius Church, Spokane, speaks in Nez Perce tongue, later in English, at the dedication ceremony for the memorial to Jackson Sundown, one-time world champion bucking bronco rider, at the Nez Perce Mission near Lewiston, Idaho.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/349976990
More on Jackson Sundown can be found at the website below:
http://www.cowboysindians.com/2016/08/jackson-sundown/