Iron Thunderhorse is an author and prisoner in Texas. He has described himself as the CEO and Legal Sovereign of ACQTC, Inc., an unrecognized tribe, and Hereditary Grand Sachem and Powwamanitomp (Shaman) of the Quinnipiac Thunder Clan. Ancestry and childhood Iron Thunderhorse was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on January 29, 1950, as William L. Coppola. In 1989, he legally changed his name to Iron Thunderhorse. He said Biwabiko Paddaquahas was the translation in the Quinnipiac language. Thunderhorse's mother was Norma Patricia Brown, a grand niece of Sakaskantawe (Flying Squirrel Woman). In ALGONQUIN EAGLE SONG: An Informal "Honor Roll" of Great Algonquins, Evan T. Pritchard writes, "Iron Thunderhorse is a direct descendant of Elizabeth Sakaskantawe [Mahweeyeuh/Brown] (the last matriarch of the Quinnipiac's Totoket Band) of the people of southwestern Connecticut, who were among the first … to be driven from their land." Thunderhorse's father was an immigrant from Naples, Italy, and his stepfather was an Ojibway from Quebec, Canada. By age 12, Thunderhorse reports he had been exposed to six languages (English, Italian, Latin, French-Canadian, Anishinabemowin, and Quiripi) by his relatives. Thunderhorse traces his passion for honoring and preserving the language and traditions of his Native American ancestor to his childhood time with Sakaskantawe. She was in her mid-90s to early 100s when she taught Thunderhorse 100 basic words of the Quiripi language, various Quiripi traditions, and the importance of learning and preserving them. New Age beliefs Thunderhorse was a prolific, self-published New Age author. "Thunderhorse's teachings are a mishmash of Native American religion and other New Age favorites, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, and Ancient Druidism," writes anthropologist Lisa Aldred. Allegations have been made that Thunderhorse is not truly Native American. Incarceration Thunderhorse was incarcerated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 1978. In 1977, he was convicted of the charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape, aggravated robbery; and in 1991 convicted of a charge of escape. His maximum sentence was set at 99 years. In June 2014, shortly after being paroled to a halfway house in Houston, TX, Thunderhorse pulled off his electronic monitoring anklet and fled to the New Haven, CT, area. In August 2014, when Thunderhorse attempted to use a 20-year-old ID to withdraw money from the Chase Bank in downtown New Haven, a bank employee did an internet search on him and discovered he was a fugitive from Texas and alerted local police who