Famous Sioux Leaders
Crazy Horse (Tasunke Witko)
An artist's depiction of Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse was an Oglala war chief. Supposedly he got his name from an even which occured after a raid on a nearby Shoshone village. He and his brother, Little Hawk, were protecting the rear of the raid party when they were attacked by two Shoshone warriors. Crazy Horse's horse gave out, so he freed it and attacked the riders on foot, killing one and sending the other fleeing back to his camp.
Another memorable event in his life was a vision quest he took when he was younger. In his vision he saw a man rising high into the sky, bombarded by lightning, hail, bullets, and even held back by one of his own people, but unharmed. His father interpreted the dream, telling Crazy Horse that the man he saw in the dream was himself, leading his people into war. For the rest of his life Crazy Horse dressed like the man in his vision, preferring a single, down-pointing feather to a war bonnet, and painting his body with images of hail, bullets, and lightning.
Crazy Horse participated in many raids and battles, thought he is perhaps best known for his leadership during the Battle of Little Bighorn. Although he missed the initial skirmish with Reno's forces, he joined the second charge against Custer. He was killed in 1877 when attempting to flee his captors, and one of his own people reached out to hold him back. He has been reburied many times, and a monument is currently being built in his honor.
Another memorable event in his life was a vision quest he took when he was younger. In his vision he saw a man rising high into the sky, bombarded by lightning, hail, bullets, and even held back by one of his own people, but unharmed. His father interpreted the dream, telling Crazy Horse that the man he saw in the dream was himself, leading his people into war. For the rest of his life Crazy Horse dressed like the man in his vision, preferring a single, down-pointing feather to a war bonnet, and painting his body with images of hail, bullets, and lightning.
Crazy Horse participated in many raids and battles, thought he is perhaps best known for his leadership during the Battle of Little Bighorn. Although he missed the initial skirmish with Reno's forces, he joined the second charge against Custer. He was killed in 1877 when attempting to flee his captors, and one of his own people reached out to hold him back. He has been reburied many times, and a monument is currently being built in his honor.
Red Cloud (Mapiya Luta)
In 1866 a man by the name of Captain William J. Fetterman led a band of around 80 soldiers to hunt down a Lakota raid party near Ft. Phil Kearney. They followed a small party of Lakota led by a man on what looked like a wounded hourse, disobeying their orders to not go beyond Lodge Trail Ridge. The party they were chasing turned out to be a decoy party, and the man on the disguised horse was none other than Crazy Horse. Fetterman had run straight into an ambush of about 2,000 native soldiers, and the ensuing fight was the highest U.S. casualty count until the Battle of Little Bighorn. It was also the most famous battle of Red Cloud's War.
Red Cloud eventually won his war with the United States, securing (or so he was promised) for his people the rights to live and hunt in their ancestrial lands. An agency (precursor to the reservation) was set up in his name, supposedly to provide cash and supplies to the Oglala and other Lakota, but the quality of the goods was determined by the government and often neglected to be sent at all. The hard-fought peace lasted no more than ten years, and although Red Cloud was unable to work any agreement out with the United States, he did not participate in the wars led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull in 1876.
Red Cloud died in 1909, outliving all other major Lakota leaders of his time. His descendants have continued to uphold his name and his leadership position among their people. In his old age he was rumored to have said, "They made us many promises, more than I can remember. They kept but one--They promised to take our land...and they took it."
Red Cloud eventually won his war with the United States, securing (or so he was promised) for his people the rights to live and hunt in their ancestrial lands. An agency (precursor to the reservation) was set up in his name, supposedly to provide cash and supplies to the Oglala and other Lakota, but the quality of the goods was determined by the government and often neglected to be sent at all. The hard-fought peace lasted no more than ten years, and although Red Cloud was unable to work any agreement out with the United States, he did not participate in the wars led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull in 1876.
Red Cloud died in 1909, outliving all other major Lakota leaders of his time. His descendants have continued to uphold his name and his leadership position among their people. In his old age he was rumored to have said, "They made us many promises, more than I can remember. They kept but one--They promised to take our land...and they took it."
Sitting Bull (Tatanka Iyotake)
There is a certain misunderstanding of Sitting Bull in both history and modern culture, beginning with his name, which correctly translates to "Buffalo Bull That Sits Down." In addition to this, Sitting Bull is sometimes said to have killed Lt. Col. George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. This is exactly the opposite of the truth. While Sitting Bull was, in his younger years, a formidable warrior, he was primarily a spiritual leader, or "medicine man." Most of the actual tactical decisions regarding Little Bighorn were left to Crazy Horse and others.
Sitting Bull's boyhood name was Jumping Badger, and his parents were part of the Hunkpapa tribe. He embodied the dual protector/provider role of Lakota men from an early age, killing his first bison around the age of ten, and later in his life he earned over 50 eagle feathers for his conquests in battle.
As a leader, Sitting Bull wielded great influence. It was mostly his decision to host a meeting between the tribes at the Little Bighorn, and approximately somewhere between one-third and one-half of the Sioux Nation responded. His leadership abilities eventually made him a target of the United States government after the spread of the Ghost Dance. Although Sitting Bull had little to do with the movement, he was captured and killed on December 15, 1890.
Sitting Bull's boyhood name was Jumping Badger, and his parents were part of the Hunkpapa tribe. He embodied the dual protector/provider role of Lakota men from an early age, killing his first bison around the age of ten, and later in his life he earned over 50 eagle feathers for his conquests in battle.
As a leader, Sitting Bull wielded great influence. It was mostly his decision to host a meeting between the tribes at the Little Bighorn, and approximately somewhere between one-third and one-half of the Sioux Nation responded. His leadership abilities eventually made him a target of the United States government after the spread of the Ghost Dance. Although Sitting Bull had little to do with the movement, he was captured and killed on December 15, 1890.