New Research to Restore Jim Thorpe as the Sole Gold Medalist for his 1912 Olympic Victories
“Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world!” – King Gustav V of Sweden
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Who is Jim Thorpe?
Jim Thorpe, a.k.a. Wa-Tho-Huk (meaning Bright Path) was a Native American athlete, actor, and humanitarian who dominated in nearly every sport he played, despite all odds.
@brightpathstrong
Happy Mother’s Day from #BrightPathStrong! In honor of the holiday, we are sharing what may be one of the only known ...
May 8
Happy Mother’s Day from #BrightPathStrong! In honor of the holiday, we are sharing what may be one of the only known photos of Charlotte Vieux, Jim Thorpe’s mother.
Charlotte Vieux (Potawatomi) was born in 1863 in Kansas City. Charlotte and many other Potawatomi tribal members eventually relocated to Oklahoma where she met and married Hiram Thorpe, Jim’s father and a member of the Sac and Fox tribe. They made their family home near Prague and Shawnee, Oklahoma. Sadly both of Jim’s parents passed away before Jim was a teenager.
The Citizen Potawatomi Nation is still headquartered in Shawnee. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation continues to call their reservation in Kansas home, about 90 miles from Kansas City. Many of Charlotte’s descendants and tribal relatives are still connected to both tribes.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there who are the backbones of our families, and the matriarchs who made our families #BrightPathStrong! ⚡️
#MothersDay #HappyMothersDay #JimThorpe #potawatomi #SacAndFox #Matriarch #NativeWomen #NativeMoms
Here’s a little #Oscars trivia for you tonight! Jim Thorpe was best known as the World's Greatest Athlete, but ...
Mar 28
Here’s a little #Oscars trivia for you tonight! Jim Thorpe was best known as the World's Greatest Athlete, but many people don’t know he had a second career as an actor, appearing in more than 70 films between 1931 and 1950. In fact, he appeared in 19 movies in 1935 alone, his busiest year! 📽️ 🎞️
This first photo and news clipping shows one of Jim’s more unique portrayals as Captain of the Guard, opposite Broadway actress Helen Gahagan in the 1935 movie "She." An established stage star, it was Gahagan’s first and only film, but her performance left a lasting impression, inspiring the Evil Queen in Disney's “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Although Jim never achieved great fame as an actor, he worked alongside Hollywood greats like Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart and Burt Lancaster.
Aside from acting, Jim made important contributions to the film industry by advocating for better representation of Native Americans. In the 1930s, the country was in the depths of the Great Depression. In the budding film industry, it was typical for white actors to play Native American characters in brownface. Although most roles for Natives were in Westerns and followed a narrow, stereotypical typecast, Jim still felt strongly that actual Native Americans should fill those roles, in order to employ those seeking work and to bring more authenticity to the screen.
That led him to lobby the federal government for help, and eventually co-found the Los Angeles Indian Center. One of the attached newspaper clippings from 1936 shows how Jim pressed the U.S. Attorney’s office and later the Bureau of Indian Affairs to intervene. Jim’s tireless work as an early advocate for equal rights in the film industry is still felt today, and his legacy lives on as we continue to fight for proper #NativeRepresentation. ⚡ #BrightPathStrong #GOAT #representationmatters #NativesInFilm #filmmaking #Film #JimThorpe #OscarsTrivia #academyawards #diversitymatters #diversityinfilm
If it was a mystery novel, it might be titled "Jim Thorpe and the case of the missing filmstrip." 🎞️ ...
Mar 15
If it was a mystery novel, it might be titled "Jim Thorpe and the case of the missing filmstrip." 🎞️ While it isn't a novel, yet... it is certainly a mystery. 🕵️♂️
So what happened to video of Jim Thorpe competing at the 1912 #Olympics?
Despite taking place more than 100 years ago, there is extensive archival footage of the opening and closing ceremonies and hours of footage of other track and field athletes competing from all over the world -- including Americans. 👟 There are even a few short clips of Jim accepting trophies from the King of Sweden and the Russian Czar.
But what became of the film clips of Jim dominating both the five-event #Pentathlon and the ten-event #Decathlon, which is the ultimate test of physical fitness and athleticism?
In his latest @RunBlogRun post, Author Jeff Benjamin explores how race, his unmatched athleticism and other factors may have played a role in the missing film. Check it out ➡️ https://loom.ly/-SN4fr8
