Tag: Piapot

Piapot (or Payipwât, Payipwat, Hole in the Sioux, Kisikawasan, Flash in the Sky) (c. 1816–April 1908) was a Plains Cree chief. He was one of the five major leaders of the Plains Cree after 1860.
Most likely born near what is now the border of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Payipwat was originally named Kisikawasan, or Flash in the Sky. Along with his grandmother, Payipwat was kidnapped by the Sioux as a child. He grew up among his captors, learning their medicine. At fourteen, Payipwat was captured during a Cree raid and returned to his own people. He was given the name Payipwat, literally Hole in the Sioux, in recognition of the knowledge he had gained while living among the Sioux. His name is often translated as “One Who Knows the Secrets of the Sioux”.
By 1860 Payipwat had become a spiritual leader among the Cree. At the same time, he had become chief of the Young Dogs, a particularly powerful band. Members of the band were renowned as great buffalo hunters and warriors, as well as…