Jim Thorpe
Early life
Thorpe's father, Hiram Thorpe (Sac and Fox), had an Irish father and a Sac and Fox mother. His mother, Charlotte Vieux, was the daughter of Citizen Potawatomi Nation members Elizabeth and Jacob Vieux, and was a descendant of Chief Louis Vieux.
Early life
Thorpe was raised in the Sauk, or Thâkîwaki, culture, and his Sauk name was Wa-Tho-Huk, which translates as "Bright path the lightning makes as it goes across the sky", often shortened to "Bright Path". Thorpe's parents were both Roman Catholic, a faith which Thorpe observed throughout his adult life.
Early life
In 1904, the 16-year-old Thorpe returned to his father and decided to attend Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. There his athletic ability was recognized and he was coached by Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner, one of the most influential coaches of early American football history. Later that year he was orphaned when his father Hiram Thorpe died from gangrene poisoning, after being wounded in a hunting accident. The young Thorpe again dropped out of school. He resumed farm work for a few years before returning to Carlisle School.
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