Francis La Flesche was born in 1857 on the Omaha Reservation, he was the first child of his father
Joseph LaFlesche's second wife
Ta-in-ne, an Omaha woman. He was half-brother to his father's first five children. Their mother was Mary Gale, mixed-race daughter of an American surgeon and his
Iowa wife. After Mary's death, the widower Joseph (also known as Iron Eye) had remarried. Francis attended the Presbyterian Mission School at
Bellevue, Nebraska. Later he attended college and law school in Washington, D.C. By 1853, Iron Eye was a chief of the Omaha; he helped negotiate the 1854 treaty by which the tribe sold most of their land in
Nebraska. He led the tribe as a head chief soon after their removal to a reservation and in the major transition to more sedentary lives. Joseph La Flesche (Iron Eye) was
Métis, of
Ponca and
French descent, and grew up mostly with the Omaha people. Working first as a
fur trader, as an adult he was adopted as a son by the chief
Big Elk. He taught him the culture and designated Iron Eye as his successor. Joseph emphasized education for all his children; several went to schools and colleges in the East. They were encouraged to contribute to the Omaha. Francis' half-siblings became accomplished adults:
Susette LaFlesche was an
activist and nationally known speaker on issues of Indian rights and reform; Rosalie LaFlesche Farley was an activist and managed Omaha tribal financial affairs; and
Susan La Flesche was the first Native American woman trained as a European-American style doctor; she treated the Omaha for years. ==Career==