Sitting Bull (1831–1890)

Tatanka Iyotanka, or Sitting Bull, was one of the greatest Indian leaders in American history. As a hunter, warrior, holy man, and statesman, he fought to preserve the Lakota traditional way of life in the face of American encroachment and led the greatest Indian victory against the American army ever fought.

Sitting Bull was most likely born in March 1831 on the Grand River in present-day South Dakota. He was the son of Jumping Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota war chief. At the age of 10, he distinguished himself in his first battle against the Crow, and by early adulthood he was widely acclaimed for his courage and strength in battle. He was honored with heading the Strong Hearts, a warrior society, and becoming a tribal councilor. The Hunkpapa also revered him as a Wichasha Wakan, a holy man who could prophesy through dreams and visions. A pious man, he believed his gifts indicated that he was predestined to better the condition of his people.

Although Sitting Bull adamantly opposed the white's encroachment on Indian land, he first attempted to avoid fighting by keeping his village far away from white settlements and refusing to sign any treaties with the U.S. government. As white soldiers and settlers arrived in Lakota territory in increasing numbers with the intent of placing Indian tribes on reservations, he became active in the Plains Indian wars, his camp serving as a meeting place for tribes who opposed the whites.

When gold was discovered in the Lakota's sacred Black Hills in 1874, thousands of prospectors poured onto the land, ignoring land ownership or Indian rights. In 1875, as the head of the Lakota war council, Sitting Bull united causes with the Cheyenne and Arapaho to force the whites out. Hundreds of warriors defied the U.S. government's order that all Indians return to the reservations, joining Sitting Bull's village on the Little Big Horn River in present-day Montana. By June 1876, Sitting Bull's village may have had as many as 5,000 warriors encamped there.

In early June 1876, Sitting Bull performed a Sun Dance to determine the outcome of the coming battle. His vision of white soldiers falling upside down from the sky into the Indian camp confirmed that the Indians would be victorious. On June 25, the Seventh Cavalry, led by General George Custer, attacked Sitting Bull's village and were soundly defeated by the warriors protecting their families and people.

Humiliated by this defeat, the army pursued the Indians, many of whom were forced to surrender and settle on reservations. Sitting Bull and his followers refused to surrender, however, and found refuge in Canada. In July 1881, Sitting Bull decided to return to his native land, where he was imprisoned for 2 years before being allowed to return to the Standing Rock reservation. By this time, he had become a mythic figure to most Americans and was allowed to tour the United States as a member of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

Sitting Bull and many of his people joined a new religion, the Ghost Dance, which prayed to the Great Spirit to bring back the buffalo and send the white people away. On December 15, 1890, panicked that the Ghost Dance would lead to an uprising, Indian police were sent to arrest Sitting Bull, but in the melee that ensued, Sitting Bull and several others were killed.

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