Azayamankawin

Azayamankawin
Bornc. 1803 (1803)
Kaposia
Diedc. 1873 (1874) (aged c. 69–70)
Mendota, Minnesota
NationalityMdewakanton Dakota
Other names
  • Hazaiyankawin
  • Betsey St. Clair
  • Berry Picker
  • Old Betz
Known for
  • Carte-de-visite portraits
  • Helping captives in 1862 war
  • Canoe ferry in Saint Paul
Children12

Azayamankawin (c. 1803 – c. 1873), also known as Hazaiyankawin, Betsey St. Clair, Old Bets, or Old Betz, was one of the most photographed Native American women of the 19th century. She was a Mdewakanton Dakota woman well known in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she once ran a canoe ferry service. Old Bets was said to have helped many women and children taken captive during the Dakota War of 1862.

Photographs of "Old Betz" were used extensively in carte-de-visite prints now held in museum collections worldwide, including the United States Library of Congress;[1] the National Portrait Gallery in the United Kingdom;[2] and the Minnesota Historical Society.[3]

  1. ^ "Old Bets – A Sioux squaw who will long be remembered with gratitude by many of the Minnesota captives, for her kindness to them while among the Sioux in 1862". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  2. ^ "Old Betz". National Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  3. ^ "Old Bets". Minnesota Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2021-08-31. Retrieved 2021-08-31.