Editing Jim Thorpe (section)

== Early life ==
Information about Thorpe's birth, name and ethnic background varies widely.{{Sfn|O'Hanlon-Lincoln|2004|p=129}} He was baptized "Jacobus Franciscus Thorpe" in the [[Catholic Church]]. Thorpe was born in [[Indian Territory]] of the United States (later [[Oklahoma]]), but no [[birth certificate]] has been found.<ref name="BD"/> The Jim Thorpe Museum lists his birth date as May 28, 1887,;<ref name="museum">{{cite web |title=Jim Thorpe History |url=https://oklahomasportshalloffame.org/jim-thorpe-museum |website=Jim Thorpe Museum |publisher=Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=January 15, 2025}}</ref> however, others have listed it as May 22, 1887,<ref name="BD">{{Cite book |last=Golus |first=Carrie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FIWXAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA4 |title=Jim Thorpe |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4677-0397-0 |edition=Revised |page=4}}</ref> near the town of [[Prague, Oklahoma|Prague]].<ref name="NYTobit" /> Thorpe said in a note to ''[[The Shawnee News-Star]]'' in 1943 that he was born May 28, 1888, "near and south of [[Bellemont, Oklahoma|Bellemont]] – [[Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma|Pottawatomie County]] – along the banks of the North Fork River&nbsp;... hope this will clear up the inquiries as to my birthplace."{{Sfn|Wheeler|1979|p=291}} May 22, 1887, is listed on his [[Baptism|baptismal certificate]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 22, 2010 |title=Author of Jim Thorpe's biography shakes things up |url=http://www.tnonline.com/2010/nov/22/author-jim-thorpes-biography-shakes-things |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505060548/https://www.tnonline.com/2010/nov/22/author-jim-thorpes-biography-shakes-things/ |archive-date=May 5, 2015 |access-date=May 2, 2015 |work=Times News Online}}</ref> Thorpe referred to [[Shawnee, Oklahoma|Shawnee]] as his birthplace in his 1943 note to the newspaper.{{Sfn|Wheeler|1979|p=291}}

Thorpe's father, Hiram Thorpe ([[Sac and Fox]]), had an Irish father and a Sac and Fox mother.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hannigan |first=Dave |date=August 3, 2016 |title=America at Large: Bizarre coda to Olympian Jim Thorpe's epic life |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/america-at-large-bizarre-coda-to-olympian-jim-thorpe-s-epic-life-1.2743918 |access-date=June 4, 2017 |newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Redmond |first=Patrick R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATzTAgAAQBAJ&q=The+Irish+and+the+Making+of+American+Sport%2C+1835-1920 |title=The Irish and the Making of American Sport, 1835–1920 |publisher=McFarland and Company |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4766-0584-5 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |page=279}}</ref> His mother, Charlotte Vieux, was the daughter of [[Citizen Potawatomi Nation]] members Elizabeth and Jacob Vieux,<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 6, 2021 |title=The fight to recognize Jim Thorpe as official Olympic gold medal winner |url=https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2021/01/06/the-fight-to-recognize-jim-thorpe-as-official-olympic-gold-medal-winner/ |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=Potawatomi.org |publisher=[[Citizen Potawatomi Nation]]}}</ref> and was a descendant of Chief Louis Vieux.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 12, 2022 |title=Connections between Potawatomi and Kickapoo endure |url=https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2022/04/12/connections-between-potawatomi-and-kickapoo-endure/ |access-date=March 21, 2024 |website=Potawatomi.org |publisher=Citizen Potawatomi Nation}}</ref>

Thorpe was raised in the [[Sauk people|Sauk]], or Thâkîwaki, culture,<ref name="ohs">{{cite web |last1=McCollum |first1=Timothy James |title=Sac and Fox |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=SA001 |website=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |access-date=January 15, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 15, 1912 |title=Jim Thorpe Leaps To Fame On Carlisle Athletic Field |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3477783/the_washington_post/ |access-date=October 24, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=2 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> and his [[Sauk language|Sauk]] name was Wa-Tho-Huk, which translates as "Bright path the lightning makes as it goes across the sky",<ref name=museum/> often shortened to "Bright Path".{{Sfn|O'Hanlon-Lincoln|2004|p=129}} Thorpe's parents were both Roman Catholic, a faith which Thorpe observed throughout his adult life.{{Sfn|O'Hanlon-Lincoln|2004|p=131}}

Thorpe attended the Sac and Fox Indian Agency School in [[Stroud, Oklahoma|Stroud]], with his twin brother, Charlie. Charlie helped him through school until he died of [[pneumonia]] when they were nine years old.<ref name=museum/><ref name="cgm">{{Cite web |title=Jim Thorpe – Fast facts |url=http://www.cmgww.com/sports/thorpe/facts/facts.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503044807/http://www.cmgww.com/sports/thorpe/facts/facts.html |archive-date=May 3, 2011 |website=cgmworldwide.com}}</ref> Thorpe [[truancy|ran away]] from school several times. His father sent him to the [[Haskell Indian Nations University|Haskell Institute]], an [[American Indian boarding schools|Indian boarding school]] in [[Lawrence, Kansas]], so that he would not run away again.<ref name="Oly30" />

When Thorpe's mother died of childbirth complications two years later,{{Sfn|Hoxie|1996|p=628}} he became depressed. After several arguments with his father, he left home to work on a horse ranch.<ref name="Oly30">{{Cite web |title=Jim Thorpe – Olympic Hero and Native American |url=http://www.olympics30.com/30greatest/jim-thorpe-hero.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110621082309/http://www.olympics30.com/30greatest/jim-thorpe-hero.asp |archive-date=June 21, 2011 |website=olympics30.com}}</ref>

In 1904, the 16-year-old Thorpe returned to his father and decided to attend [[Carlisle Indian Industrial School]] in [[Carlisle, Pennsylvania]]. There his athletic ability was recognized and he was coached by [[Pop Warner|Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner]], one of the most influential coaches of early American football history.<ref name="CNN" /> Later that year he was orphaned when his father Hiram Thorpe died from [[gangrene]] poisoning, after being wounded in a hunting accident.{{Sfn|Hoxie|1996|p=628}} The young Thorpe again dropped out of school. He resumed farm work for a few years before returning to Carlisle School.<ref name="Oly30" />