The Chief Sapulpa Bronze Bust was created using the only known photograph of Chief Sapulpa, a Creek Nation Native American (Photo shown at the left). I also found a great-grandson of Chief Sapulpa who agreed to allow me to take measurements of his head to loosely base the image of his now famous grandfather. The great-grandson was about the age of Chief Sapulpa when he posed for his photograph over a hundred years earlier.  The great-grandson posed at my studio with my promise that I would keep his name and the location of his residence private; which I have and will continue to do.  As far as artistic challenges go, Chief Sapulpa's bust was the most difficult portrait bronzes I have ever produced.   The life-size bust is a model for a future (full figure) Heroic (1 1/2 times life-size) Bronze Monument to honor the namesake and first resident of  Sapulpa, Oklahoma.  His life is a model of integrity and generosity.  The Heroic Bronze Monument will be entitled "Vigilance."

History of Sapulpa, The Man 

Sapulpa was born of full blood, lower Creek parentage of the Kashiba Tribe in the state of Alabama.  His father's name was Omiya, (the Swimmer).  His mother's name is not known, neither is the exact date of Sapulpa's birth which varies from 1812 to 1824.  However, since Sapulpa gave his age as forty when he enlisted in the Confederate army, it is assumed that he was born in 1824, although this has never been proven.

 Sapulpa's home was on the banks of Cha-la-hockee (Risen-Rock). He was left an orphan when very young so he and his three sisters were raised by his father's two brothers.  He was a member of Osochestown.

According to his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth, his name, Sapulpa, came about quite by accident.  He had only one name, she said,and that was 'Sepulchre'.  In olden times the Indians generally were given names to signify some event or happening.  The religious groups sought names from the Bible. In reading the passage from Matthew "and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre", the word signified strength as well as a burial place and the boy was so named.

Later when the Indian agents wrote the names of Indians, the names were written as the agents heard them.  When the members of the Dawes Commission were enrolling the Indians in order to allot them land, they wrote the name 'Sul-bul-ber', and this evolved into 'Sapulpa'.

Sapulpa was one of those indignant young braves constantly in conflict with government officers, and was what many called a "wild" Indian. One account says that he was allied with James McHenry, Marshall Barnett, and an Indian known as Nanehoyah.

One story he was told and has been often repeated was of the time the soldiers were chasing him with dogs.  Sapulpa came to a creek which was in the undisputed control of a huge alligator.  He could not turn back so he made a desperate jump over both the alligator and the creek.  The hounds and soldiers were not so fortunate in their confrontation with the alligator and gave up the chase.  So, as Sapulpa told his grandchildren, the native of the swamps saved the native of the woods from his enemies.

Sapulpa was well-educated and well-traveled and had a knowledge of the white-man's language.  The Creek Indians in those days often visited St. Augustine where they did most of their trading.

Here is where Sapulpa has made friends among the white people and knew the merchants.  Here on his last trip to the city his white friends persuaded him to go with them to Charleston, South Carolina.  From there he traveled by boat to New Orleans; then knowing many of his friends were living in the Creek Nation, Indian Territory, and not desiring to renew his trials with dogs and government officers, he decided to continue up the river to Ft. Smith, Arkansas.  He arrived in the Creek Nation sometime after the Indian Migration of 1836.

One account tells us that Sapulpa and Ispocogee, being leaders of one of the seventy-seven tribal towns in Alabama (Kasihta) left the council fires in Ocmulkee (now Olkmulgee) and started council fires three miles of what is now the  City of Sapulpa.

His Indian Instincts showed him specific reasons for stopping here.  The town-site is like the bottom of a huge saucer with low hills making the rim.  Sapulpa reasoned that the surrounding hills would keep the place safe from tornadoes: and they did until the forties when one struck the Southwest corner of town and again in the fifties when one struck on North Heights Hill, which was actually on the rim of the saucer. No tornado has ever struck the downtown area of Sapulpa, OK.

This reason might have been only speculation on the part of his descendants, but the next reason was valid.  Plenty of water is needed for a settlement, as well as plentiful grazing for livestock.  The grass was as high as a horse's back and the ground fertile in the valleys for farming.  He settled first overlooking the confluence of Polecat Creek and Rock Creek, calling the place Cone Hutchee, (or Kunahutcha) Polecat. 

Sapulpa was a member of the Coon Clan, and his wives were of the Fox Clan. He married NaKitty, who had come with her family in 1836. By her he had James, Sarah, and Hanna.  Sarah described the place where she was born:  There were three log cabins, one being used as a place to cook and the other two were used as sleeping quarters.  The houses were made out of logs and shingles that were made on the place.  The floors were made by using straight logs and splitting them to the desired thickness.  It was hard labor for Sapulpa and his family to create a ranch from raw land.

At this time there were eight children at home, three girls and five boys.  Sarah said the five boys were sent to school; William to Wealaka, James to a school in the Choctaw Nation, the others she did not know.  The girls did not go to school.  All of the children had to work, herding cattle and also taming stray cows for milking.  The land was open range, no fences.  They raised cattle, horses and hogs. Sarah also said they grew sweet potatoes, white corn and wheat.  They would take two or three loads of wheat to the mill at Muskogee to be made into flour.  The corn they ground themselves, using it for corn bread, abuska, sofka and blue dumplings.

Around 1850 Sapulpa opened a store in connection with his blacksmith shop at his home and sold coffee, sugar, tobacco, dry goods, flour, spices and other articles to numerous to mention, hauling his goods in by team and pack horses from Ft. Smith and the old agency about seven or eight miles northwest of Muskogee. The Osage Indians used to come down to her father's store to trade.  They would camp a mile or two north of the Sapulpa home.  At the end of about two years he gave up merchandising on account of the difficulties in getting his goods.  There were no other stores in the neighborhood, the nearest being at the old agency near Muskogee and Council Hill.

When the Civil War broke out, Sapulpa loaned $1,000 in gold to the Confederate Cause, receiving a note as evidence, which is still in the family.  He joined the Creek Regiment of the Confederate Army, in which he served for three years and rose to the rank of First Lieutenant.  There must have been much dissension in the family, because his second wife and family of children went up north with the Opathleyahola train during the Civil War. Sapulpa's son, James, told of being a scout for the people, staying behind to give information to the army.

Also Joe Bruner told that Mary Hupta, aunt of Mrs. Jim Sapulpa, had been entrusted with a bag of gold belonging to Ispocogee, leader of the Kasihtas, knowing that Mary was in the advance flight while he had to stay and fight, hoping that she could save it for him. The flight was sudden and in their fright, the women threw away everything that was not their most prized possessions.  Mary threw away the bag of gold and saved her precious turtle shells, for these were her main adornment in their tribal dances.

William Sapulpa said that he was just a little lad when the Civil War was going on when he followed his family with a group for a sojourn south.  In these travels he remembered how he rode a pony with his brother and other young men driving cattle and thought it was a lot of fun.  He did not know until later in life that his father was one of those fellows called the wealthy kind with many slaves, so naturally had to fight for his property like most people of the South.

Sapulpa's discharge states that he, Sus Pulber, Reg't. of Mtd. Vol. born in the old Creek Nation in the state of Alabama, Age 40 years, five feet eight inches high, dark complexion, black eyes, black hair, and by occupation farmer, was enlisted by Capt. Wm. Percival of Hellibubba Square, on the first day of April, 1863,  served two years. He was promoted to Sergeant 1st, November 1863, served as such to the 18th of May 1864, when he was elected then 2nd Lieutenant of the above named Company (K) and served as such from that date to this is now entitled to discharge by reason of promotion.  Dated 1st July 1864. Family history has it that he stayed in the Army until after the Battle of Elk Creek (near Checotah, Oklahoma), where he was wounded. Sapulpa moved his home, one mile up the hill, from its former location. The first having been burned during the war.  Here he built a large, long, double log house.

In 1872, he established another store, larger than the former one.  He had a good trade with the Indians from the Sac and Fox Agency. This location was also near the cattle trail that cut across from the Chissom Trail to Eastern Kansas shipping points. This store was well-located for cattlemen, who made for the Red Fork Trail, especially after the railroad was extended across the river in 1883.  This time he bought and hauled his merchandise from Coffeyville, Kansas but again difficulty in transporting the goods caused him to close out.

Sapulpa devoted his later years in life to his ranch, lying ten miles south of Sapulpa.  The headquarters of this ranch was about one mile west of the old Jim Sapulpa home. (This would now be where the Teel Road turns to go north by the Roy Wickham farm.)  At this time, Sapulpa had about fifty acres under cultivation, raising corn, beans, potatoes and peanuts.

Sapulpa used to go into "Old Oklahoma" on hunting trips.  They would bring back young buffalo, deer, turkey, prairie chickens and occasionally elk and bear.  This meat was dried and brought back on horses. There was usually a party of ten or twelve on these trips, and they would stay a month or two each fall.  Sapulpa kept about a hundred head of hogs, all of which ran at large.  This was in addition to all the cattle.

An Indian preacher named Jersey Peter, was a Circuit Rider with the Methodist Church. He and Rev. McHenry established four churches.  One at Concharta, (One mile east of the Bufford Miller Ranch); another at Old Broken Arrow Town; a third at Newtown, (three miles northeast of Okmulgee); and the forth at Sapulpa Station.  Camp meetings were held twice a year, and lasted four days.  Great Arbors were made, along with plenty of log benches.

 All of the services were in the Creek language.  It is said that Sapulpa was a devout church member.  He practiced his religion, giving plentifully to all who needed it.  It is also said that he furnished all the food for the Camp Meetings at his station.  James McHenry converted Sapulpa to the Methodist religion.  The consequences of this were that Sapulpa sent his last wife away, for Christianity did not allow two wives.  He continued to provide for her and his children, in the same manner as his other wife and family.  In 1868 Sapulpa was elected to the Creek Nation House of Kings with much honor. He remained a member of the Creek Nation House of Kings the remainder of his life.

The railroad line was extended to Sapulpa in 1883 for freighting out the walnut logs found on the banks of Rock Creek.  In 1886 the first passenger train came down and his son, Will, took his father over to Tulsa at the invitation of the Frisco officials to ride on the first passenger train into Sapulpa. He was given two brass spittoons from that train.

"Chief" as he was called, though, in spite of all the high honors bestowed on him by the Creek Nation,  Sapulpa was never a Chief, lived about a year after the coming of the railroad, and died on March 17, 1887.  Sapulpa is buried in the Sapulpa Family Cemetery, located on South Division Street and cared for by the local chapter of DAR

Historical Information Compiled By Sapulpa Historical Society
Above Text Edited by Jim Branscum 
Proofed for Accuracy and Approved by Jim Hubbard,  Sapulpa Historical Society, Inc. Director

Sapulpa Historical Society,  
PO Box 278,  Sapulpa, OK 74066

Reference Book: 
"Sapulpa, OK 74066 Vol. 1"
                                                        Copyright © 1980/ All Rights Reserved
                                                        Sapulpa Historical Society

Photography of  Chief Sapulpa Life-Size Bust
By Miller Photography, Inc.
Tulsa, OK
918-587-2505

Return to Jim Branscum Art Studio: