Lester Leutwiler Chief Illiniwek Headdress and Costume Accessories | The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music

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Lester Leutwiler was born on April 1, 1907. He grew up in Urbana, Illinois and attended Urbana High School. His father worked at the University of Illinois as both a Professor and the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Leutwiler was an Eagle Scout where he learned about Native American Culture. He took a great interest in the subject and learned about "Fancy Dance", a Plains Indian style of dance. He also attended a camp in Mount Elbert Colorado where he created a Native American headdress with the help of camp runner, Ralph Hubbard. This would become the headdress used in Leutwiler's Chief performances. Leutwiler attended the University of Illinois and received a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Due to his knowledge of Native American culture and dance, the director of the marching band, Ray Dvorak, invited Leutwiler to debut the Chief. The first performance took place in a halftime show for a football game against the University of Pennsylvania on October 3, 1926. He performed as the Chief from 1926 to 1928, graduating in 1929. He passed away in February of 1993.

Sources:
Cheif illiniwek. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2, 2024, from http://courses.atlas.illinois.edu/spring2018/RHET/RHET233/kylelc2/FinalProject/History.html LinkedUpRadio, E. W. S. /. (n.d.). Chiefs—Honor the chief society. Retrieved July 2, 2024, from https://honorthechief.org/hall-of-honor/chiefs Wurth, J. (2015, February 1). Whatever happened to: The first chief illiniwek. The News-Gazette. https://www.news-gazette.com/news/whatever-happened-to-the-first-chief-illiniwek/article_f18e5873-d725-5ff1-9b2a-2b2efb515640.html