Sitting Bull(1831-1890)
- Actor
Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux) holy man and war chief, was
born in 1831 near the Grand River in what is now the Standing Rock
Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was named after his father, who
was killed by Crow warriors--the Crow tribe being a longtime enemy of
the Lakota--in an ambush. In the mid-1860s, during what became known as
Red Cloud's War, Sitting Bull led the Sioux in a series of attacks on
US Army posts and civilian wagon trains in the Powder River area of the
Dakotas. Although other Indian tribes signed a peace treaty with the US
government ending the war in 1868, Sitting Bull refused to and
continued his attacks on military and civilian targets into the 1870s.
He attacked crews building railroads across the Indian territory and
miners who were panning for gold in the Black Hills, an area sacred to
the Sioux. His attacks prompted the US government to send federal
troops to the area, under the command of Col. George Armstrong Custer,
to stop them. In 1875 the US Interior Department ordered all Sioux
living outside the area known as The Great Sioux Reservation to move
onto it, and any who did not would be declared "hostile" and could be
forcibly removed to the reservation. Rather than persuading Indians to
follow the Department's orders, this policy resulted in several tribes
previously hostile to each other, such as the Cheyenne and Kiowa, to
unite in alliance with the Sioux against the army, although many chiefs
who had previously fought the army--such as Red Cloud, Gall and Spotted
Tail--decided it was in their best interests to take their followers
and live on the reservation.
In 1875 the Cheyenne and several Sioux clans joined forces to resist
the army's attempts to place them on the reservation. They used Sitting
Bull's camp as their main assembling point, as did many other Indians
who had bolted from the reservation. As more and more Indians arrived
the camp expanded in size, until there were an estimated 16,000 Indians
living there. It was this camp that Custer stumbled across on June 25,
1876. His attack on the camp, and the subsequent defeat and
annihilation of his command, became known as the Battle of the Little
Big Horn, named for the river that ran through the camp. Contrary to
popular opinion, however, Sitting Bull had nothing to do with the
defeat of Custer's forces--his task was to organize a defense of the
camp, and it was other chiefs who led the counterattack on Custer.
Custer's defeat led the US army to assign thousands of troops to the
area to track down and capture Sitting Bull, and over the next year or
so many Sioux chiefs surrendered their bands due to the intense
pressure from the army. Sitting Bull, however, refused to surrender and
in 1877 led his band across the border into Canada, where he knew the
US army could not reach him. However, conditions in Canada deteriorated
for the Indians, with cold and hunger taking their toll. On July 19,
1881, he crossed back into the US and led his band of nearly 200
Indians to Fort Buford, South Dakota, and surrendered. Initially taken
to Fort Yates, near the Standing Rock Reservation, Sitting Bull's band
was transferred to Fort Randall, where they were kept for almost two
years as prisoners of war. They returned to Standing Rock in 1883.
The next year Sitting Bull was given permission to leave the
reservation to join the "wild west show" of
Buffalo Bill Cody, aka "Buffalo Bill", and
he became an audience favorite. He returned to the reservation after
only four months with the Cody show, however. By that time he had
become somewhat of a celebrity and many whites visited the reservation
hoping to see him. He turned a tidy profit charging his "fans" to have
their pictures taken with him.
In 1890 a movement known as the "Ghost Dance" swept the Standing Rock
reservation. Part of the movement's message was to encourage Indians to
defy the authorities and leave the reservation. The Indian Agency
administrators were concerned that Sitting Bull, who was still
considered a leader among the Sioux and wielded great influence over
them, was planning on taking as many Indians as he could and flee the
reservation. They ordered the tribal police to arrest and jail him to
keep that from happening. On December 15, 1890, a force of more than 40
Indian police arrived at Sitting Bull's house. As they prepared to take
him away, nearby Indians who had heard what was happening began to
gather around the house. Sitting Bull refused to go with the police,
and the crowd became angry. Reportedly a Sioux onlooker grabbed a rifle
and fired it at the officer in charge, hitting him. The officer then
pulled his weapon and shot Sitting Bull in the chest, and another
officer fired a round into his head. The crowd then attacked the
police, who fought back, and in the ensuing mêlée eight Indian police
and seven Indians in the crowd, along with Sitting Bull, were killed.
born in 1831 near the Grand River in what is now the Standing Rock
Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He was named after his father, who
was killed by Crow warriors--the Crow tribe being a longtime enemy of
the Lakota--in an ambush. In the mid-1860s, during what became known as
Red Cloud's War, Sitting Bull led the Sioux in a series of attacks on
US Army posts and civilian wagon trains in the Powder River area of the
Dakotas. Although other Indian tribes signed a peace treaty with the US
government ending the war in 1868, Sitting Bull refused to and
continued his attacks on military and civilian targets into the 1870s.
He attacked crews building railroads across the Indian territory and
miners who were panning for gold in the Black Hills, an area sacred to
the Sioux. His attacks prompted the US government to send federal
troops to the area, under the command of Col. George Armstrong Custer,
to stop them. In 1875 the US Interior Department ordered all Sioux
living outside the area known as The Great Sioux Reservation to move
onto it, and any who did not would be declared "hostile" and could be
forcibly removed to the reservation. Rather than persuading Indians to
follow the Department's orders, this policy resulted in several tribes
previously hostile to each other, such as the Cheyenne and Kiowa, to
unite in alliance with the Sioux against the army, although many chiefs
who had previously fought the army--such as Red Cloud, Gall and Spotted
Tail--decided it was in their best interests to take their followers
and live on the reservation.
In 1875 the Cheyenne and several Sioux clans joined forces to resist
the army's attempts to place them on the reservation. They used Sitting
Bull's camp as their main assembling point, as did many other Indians
who had bolted from the reservation. As more and more Indians arrived
the camp expanded in size, until there were an estimated 16,000 Indians
living there. It was this camp that Custer stumbled across on June 25,
1876. His attack on the camp, and the subsequent defeat and
annihilation of his command, became known as the Battle of the Little
Big Horn, named for the river that ran through the camp. Contrary to
popular opinion, however, Sitting Bull had nothing to do with the
defeat of Custer's forces--his task was to organize a defense of the
camp, and it was other chiefs who led the counterattack on Custer.
Custer's defeat led the US army to assign thousands of troops to the
area to track down and capture Sitting Bull, and over the next year or
so many Sioux chiefs surrendered their bands due to the intense
pressure from the army. Sitting Bull, however, refused to surrender and
in 1877 led his band across the border into Canada, where he knew the
US army could not reach him. However, conditions in Canada deteriorated
for the Indians, with cold and hunger taking their toll. On July 19,
1881, he crossed back into the US and led his band of nearly 200
Indians to Fort Buford, South Dakota, and surrendered. Initially taken
to Fort Yates, near the Standing Rock Reservation, Sitting Bull's band
was transferred to Fort Randall, where they were kept for almost two
years as prisoners of war. They returned to Standing Rock in 1883.
The next year Sitting Bull was given permission to leave the
reservation to join the "wild west show" of
Buffalo Bill Cody, aka "Buffalo Bill", and
he became an audience favorite. He returned to the reservation after
only four months with the Cody show, however. By that time he had
become somewhat of a celebrity and many whites visited the reservation
hoping to see him. He turned a tidy profit charging his "fans" to have
their pictures taken with him.
In 1890 a movement known as the "Ghost Dance" swept the Standing Rock
reservation. Part of the movement's message was to encourage Indians to
defy the authorities and leave the reservation. The Indian Agency
administrators were concerned that Sitting Bull, who was still
considered a leader among the Sioux and wielded great influence over
them, was planning on taking as many Indians as he could and flee the
reservation. They ordered the tribal police to arrest and jail him to
keep that from happening. On December 15, 1890, a force of more than 40
Indian police arrived at Sitting Bull's house. As they prepared to take
him away, nearby Indians who had heard what was happening began to
gather around the house. Sitting Bull refused to go with the police,
and the crowd became angry. Reportedly a Sioux onlooker grabbed a rifle
and fired it at the officer in charge, hitting him. The officer then
pulled his weapon and shot Sitting Bull in the chest, and another
officer fired a round into his head. The crowd then attacked the
police, who fought back, and in the ensuing mêlée eight Indian police
and seven Indians in the crowd, along with Sitting Bull, were killed.