Stories from the First Cathedral 18: They Called Him "Straight Tongue"

"He was the Episcopal bishop who went to see Lincoln to try to stop a mass hanging of the Sioux Indians [. . . .] Whipple did go to see Lincoln about the Sioux (henceforth to be called by their own name, the Dakotas), but the visit took place in a much larger, more impressive context: years of Whipple's advocacy, including several trips and letters to Washington in which the bishop demanded a sweeping reform of how the U.S. government treated Native Americans. Whipple acted as a one-man movement, seeking respect and protection for American Indians to replace the monstrous fraud and injustice to which he saw them subjected." (Lincoln's Bishop by Gustav Niebuhr, 2014)

Gustav Niebuhr called me in 2012 and asked if he could interview me about a new book about Bishop Whipple. He visited others on his trip to Minnesota. I was honored to show him the First Cathedral and he was thrilled to see Bishop Whipple's personal items on display throughout the three buildings of the Cathedral. 

My favorite Whipple object is a portrait of the Bishop created in charcoal by an artist who worked for the famous 19th century publication called Harper's Weekly. This portrait is more than life size and, I believe, the best image of Bishop Whipple, circa 1870. The portrait shows a man who possesses deep, compassionate eyes. It was this compassion that attracted Gustav Niebuhr to write a book about a man who died over a hundred years before the publication of Lincoln's Bishop.  What motivated Mr. Niebuhr to write about Bishop Whipple? It was the Bishop's work as an advocate for the Dakota, who needed someone to stand with them in their darkest hour. That's why the Dakota called Bishop Whipple "Straight Tongue."