Lifetime Leaders of Rodeo & Ranching Rodeo Ranching Great Westerner Western Entertaiment & Arts Rodeo Producers & Livestock Special Achievement Cowboy Long Rider Legacy Award

Ranching

Paige Baker Sr.
1999 Hall of Fame Ranching Inductee

 Paige Baker Sr. was born in 1913 on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation near Independence. The Hidatsa name for the son of James and Ethyl (Tail) Baker was "Sacred Horse."

 He attended Indian schools and then returned to North Dakota to work on ranches, ride saddle broncs and raise livestock. He married Cora Young Bird at Manning in 1938, and they had five children.
In 1952, Paige moved his family to the western edge of the reservation and began his own ranching operation. He also worked for other area ranchers and on the last big cattle drive from the reservation to the trains at Dunn Center.

 Paige loved rodeos and roping. He spoke both Hidatsa and Mandan and was a well-known master of ceremonies at pow wows and other events. He was a traditionalist who taught his children their tribal traditions.

 Son Gerard says his father never went beyond high school. "He was very intelligent; one of the smartest men I've known. He had common sense and perseverance. Paige and wife Cora encouraged their children to pursue college degrees and made them believe they could do anything with a little hard work.

 Paige was a community leader and a devout Catholic. He served as a tribal judge and on numerous state boards and commissions. He died of cancer in 1982 at age 69. Son Gerard says, "He was very proud of us. He was a rancher at heart, and that's the way I see him--on horseback, roping or chasing cattle out on the prairies."