William C. “Billy” Knorr was born on January 21, 1885, in Poplar. Billy’s father, Phillip Knorr, was a U.S. Army Union Soldier in the Civil War who moved west to Montana and met Billy’s mother, Elizabeth, who was Assiniboine. Phillip leased a homestead and owned horses that Billy loved while growing up.
Years later, in the summer of 1920, Billy and his good friend Alva Kellogg attended the Havre Celebration. On their drive home, Billy told Alva he thought they could put on an even bigger celebration in Wolf Point, showcasing Indians’ skills in rodeo. Alva agreed and told Billy to get started with the plans.
The following summer, the “Granddaddy of Montana Rodeo” was born: the Wolf Point Wild Horse Stampede. The biggest crowd Wolf Point had ever seen turned out to attend, and the Wolf Point Commercial Club was so pleased with the record crowds that they decided to make it an annual event.
In 1922, Billy was elected President of the Indian Welfare Association which was a council of Fort Peck Indian farmers and ranchers. Billy also served on the Fort Peck Indian Fair Association and helped organize the fair for a few years.
In the late 1920s, Billy owned fifty head of horses and sixty head of Black Angus cattle. A true cowboy through and through, he also worked for a dozen or more cattle ranches and rode with the Valley County Horse Roundup.
In 1932, Billy entered politics and was elected as a Wolf Point commissioner and to the Fort Peck Assiniboine General Council.
In 1947, Billy was elected as the Vice Chairman of the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes and once again served as a delegate for the tribes.
He was elected Chairman of the Fort Peck Tribes in 1951, and with the establishment of the 2nd Constitution and Bylaws of the Tribes, Billy was delegated to Washington D.C., representing the Tribes for the final time before leaving that elected office.
In total, Billy committed twenty years of his life to the Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board. He was greatly admired and respected by many for his character. He was a true horseman, lawman, politician, and cowboy.