Rosebud Yellow Robe

Her family had emigrated to the U.S. from the German-speaking city of Neftenbach, Switzerland, in 1854.

"Lillie" was born in Minnesota in 1885 and moved with her family to Tacoma, Washington, where she was reared and went to school.

The Rapid City Indian School was created in 1898 for Indian children from the Northern plains, including those from the Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, Shoshone, Arapaho, Crow, and Flathead tribes.

It was one of the off-reservation Indian Boarding Schools established by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and was sometimes called "School of the Hills."

In 1905, Yellow Robe married Lillian Belle Sprenger, of Swiss-German ancestry from Tacoma, Washington.

Lillian was a volunteer nurse at the Rapid City Indian School.

Rosebud Yellow Robe (Lacotawin) (26 February 1907 – 5 October 1992) was a Native American folklorist, educator and writer of half Lakota Sioux birth.

Rosebud was influenced by her father Chauncey Yellow Robe, and used storytelling, performance and books to introduce generations of children to Native American folklore and culture.

Rosebud Yellow Robe was born on 26 February 1907, in Rapid City, South Dakota, the eldest of three daughters of Chauncey Yellow Robe and Lillian Belle Sprenger.

Rosebud was named after the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Chauncey Yellow Robe ("Kills in the Woods") (Canowicakte) was a well known educator, lecturer and Native American activist.

During the visit, Coolidge was adopted as an honorary member of the Sioux tribe in recognition of his support for the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, granting full U.S. citizenship to all American Indians and permitting them to retain tribal land and cultural rights.

The ceremony was presided over by Chief Chauncey Yellow Robe and Rosebud.

Chauncey conferred upon President Coolidge the name "Leading Eagle" (Wamblee-Tokaha), while Rosebud placed a handmade Lakota warbonnet on the President's head.

At the time, Rosebud was a student at the University of South Dakota.

Rosebud's image was widely reported by the press and she became an instant national celebrity.

"Rosebud's grace and beauty were not lost on the press reporters, who commented on the 'beautiful Indian maiden'."

Thereafter, she was sought after by film and theatrical agents.

Rosebud attended the university from 1925 to 1927, and took part in productions and presentations about Native American dances.

On 6 April 1927, Rosebud's mother Lillie died at the age of forty-two, in Chauncey's words, "in the prime of her life and beautiful womanhood."

Rosebud was prompted her to take over the care of her two younger sisters.

On 4 August 1927, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge and his wife visited the Black Hills of South Dakota.

In 1928, Cecil B. DeMille, tried to persuade her to take the title role in his movie, Ramona, but she declined.

Rosebud's friends said she was a dead ringer for silent screen star Dolores del Rio, who eventually got the role of the heroine in the "Indian love lyric."

The event and publicity also fueled Chauncey's interest in politics.

After the national publicity of President Coolidge's adoption, Yellow Robe was drawn to New York City at the age of 20 to pursue a theatrical career.

Rosebud developed a dance act and performed in American Indian costume on stages in theaters and hotels.

Rosebud was a public celebrity to thousands of children who visited the Indian Village at Jones Beach, New York, every summer from 1930 to 1950.

From the late 1930s through the 1950s, Yellow Robe was a broadcast celebrity with the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City and appeared as a regular on NBC children's programs.

In later years, Rosebud continued her storytelling and lectures at the American Museum of Natural History and the Donnell Library of New York.

It closed its doors as a school in 1933 and became a sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis for the Sioux.

Her parents' marriage was an inspiration for Rosebud's ability to cross cultural bridges.

Chauncey taught her and her sisters Chauncina and Evelyn in Lakota tradition.

On occasion, elderly Indians would visit the grounds of the Indian School and tell stories in the Lakota language.

Chauncey would have Rosebud listen, even though she could not understand a word, and later he would retell the stories in English.

Chauncey chose to send his daughters to the Rapid City public schools for their academic orientation, instead of the Indian School which focused on vocational courses in agriculture, blacksmithing and domestic arts.

Rosebud enjoyed the Indian School's library and programs.

Chauncey spent many hours with his children telling the tales he was told by his grandmother and grandfather.

Rosebud Yellow Robe was one of the first Native American students at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota.

In 1994, Yellow Robe's career as an educator was honored in a performance of "Rosebud's Song" by the National Dance Institute at New York City's Madison Square Garden.