Beau Neal was born about 1867 in Indian Country. The son of Arapaho ceremonial leader Hocheny “Old Crow Chief” and Ute Woman, Neal also had a sister, Ready to Sing, and a brother, George Hocheny. On October 27, 1879, Neal was one of the first children to arrive at the newly opened Carlisle Indian School located in Carlisle, Penn. He died less than a year later on August 20, 1880 due to chronic enteritis. He was buried the next day in Carlisle, Penn.
He was confirmed in the Episcopal church. Little information is known about his life. In a written report to the Commission of Indian Affairs by Richard Henry Pratt, the founder of Carlisle, he describes in detail the day Beau and other Native children were taken and sent to the boarding school. “They have great affection for their children. Thousands gathered at each agency to see them off and more affecting tears, grief and mourning could not be imagined.”
He was disinterred to the Northern Arapaho Tribe on September 14, 2023. Graveside services will take part on September 16, 2023 at Yellow Calf Cemetery in Ethete, Wyoming at 11:00 a.m.
On-line condolences may be made at TheDavisFuneralHome.com.
Services are under the direction of Davis Funeral Home, Crematory, and Monuments.