Wyoming’s William Shakespeare was born in 1901 on the Wind River Reservation. His father, War Bonnet, had served as a translator and go-between, working as a communications link between the tribe and the Indian agent at the time.
Under his father’s tutoring, Shakespeare grew up fluently bi-lingual in Arapaho and English. He left the reservation as a teenager to attend boarding schools in Kansas and Nebraska. Then, as a young man, he found work in Hollywood films and traveled through Europe as part of a “Wild West” show.
In the 1950s and 60s, Shakespeare became involved with several anthropological research projects that were studying Arapaho language and cultural traditions. He developed an interest in academic studies of Native American culture and began recording Arapaho songs and ceremonies. He also served as an organizer and emcee for intertribal dances.
You can learn more about Wyoming’s William Shakespeare by reading the Loretta Fowler Papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.
For more information, visit the American Heritage Center site.