Chief Thunderbird 

Real Name - Jean Baptiste Paul

Lifespan - ?/??/1896 - 11/23/1966

6’ 230 lbs. - Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

Athletic Background - Boxing [Pro], Wrestling, Baseball, Basketball, Track & Field, Football, Soccer, Lacrosse

Teacher(s) - n/a

Aliases - Baptiste Paul

Peak Years - 1930s

Place in History - There have been countless pro-wrestlers who have used an “Indian” persona over the years and only a handful had an authentic heritage.  Jean Baptiste Paul of the Tsartlip First Nation on Vancouver Island was both a big star and a legitimate representative of an indigenous group.  As a youth, he was not interested in Tsartlip traditions, but just wanted to play sports.  He headed to Washington and tried his hand at any sport he could before running into a wrestler at a carnival.  The athletic youngster caught the attention of promoters in Washington and a year later he was squaring off with “Strangler” Lewis.  As pro-wrestling was embracing more ballyhoo, a persona like Chief Thunderbird was perfect.  He took on many of the characteristics that had become stereotypical of native people in entertainment performances and became tropes in pro-wrestling for years to come.  During the Depression era, pro-wrestling was enjoying tremendous popularity and a standout talent like Chief Thunderbird could travel all over and work top matches.  He was able to work the big matches with the likes of Jim Londos, Lou Thesz and Wild Bill Longson and he brought some color to showdowns with attractions like Bronko Nagurski and Baron Michele Leone.  However, Chief Thunderbird was probably best suited for “Cowboy and Indian” matches with Dirty Dick Raines or battles with classic heels like Al Mills, “Shoulders” Newman and “Riot Call” Wright.  Chief Thunderbird’s career enjoyed a coda in the 1950s where he famously traveled to Britain and despite being past his prime, he captured the imagination of fans and even appeared on a BBC news show.  His popularity laid the path for Billy Two Rivers who was a big wrestling star during the television era.  A leg break ended his career and began a quiet retirement back on Vancouver Island.  Following his death, a totem was erected in his honor.  While not the most well-known, most successful or even the first, Chief Thunderbird’s place within the development and popularization of Native American pro-wrestlers is significant.