Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull (Sioux: Tatanka Iyotake or Tatanka Iyotanka orTa-Tanka I-Yotank, born "Jumping Badger", later named Hunkesni, Slow), (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Native American clergyman and leader of the Hunkpapa Sioux (see Lakota) who led 3,500 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors against the US 7th Cavalry under George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. Though he did not participate personally in the battle, the chiefs were spurred on by a dream that Sitting Bull had in which a group of American soldiers tumbled into his encampment.
Blamed for the ensuing massacre, Sitting Bull led his tribe into Canada, where they lived until 1881, when on July 20 he led the last of his fugitive people to surrender to United States troops at Fort Buford in Montana. The US government, however, granted him amnesty.
In later life, Sitting Bull toured with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, where he was a popular attraction. Often asked to address the audience, he frequently cursed them in his native Lakota language to the wild applause of his listeners.
Toward the end of his life, Sitting Bull was drawn to the mystical Ghost Dance as a way of repelling the white invaders from his people's land. Although he himself was not a follower, this was perceived as a threat by the American government, and a group of Indian police was sent to arrest him. In the ensuing scuffle, Sitting Bull and his son Crow Foot were killed.
Biography
Childhood
Sitting Bull was born around March 1831. He was born in what is now South Dakota in the Northern Plains. He was born in a place named "Many catches for the number of pits dug there for food". He was a member of the Hunkapapa clan of the Lakota Sioux. Sitting Bull's mother was called Her-Holy-Door, his father was also called Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull (Jr) was originally given the name Jumping Badger when he was born. The American Indians received many names in their lifetimes and rarely kept the same name they were born with. Their names changed according to their personality, how they acted, what visions they saw etc. Jumping Badger was soon given the name fast. He was given this name as he did not act upon things straight away but often thought about things before he did them. When he was 14, Slow made his first 'coup' in a raid against a Crow Indian camp. To celebrate this success his father gave him his name - Sitting Bull. It was to represent a stubborn buffalo bull planted firmly on its haunches.
Sitting Bull's childhood would have been quite happy. They were free to explore, eat when they wanted and sleep when they wanted. Sitting Bull's father was quite 'rich' - he was also a chief and he owned many ponies. Some of his uncles were also chiefs. It was jokingly said of Sitting Bull that his legs were bowed like the ribs of the ponies that he rode constantly from childhood.
At age 10, Sitting Bull killed his first buffalo, he gave the meat away to elders who were unable to hunt for themselves. After this he went on his first vision quest. Later on he would be known as a holy man who often communicated with the spirit world. He became a Sioux shaman and medicine man. When Sitting Bull was 14, his father gave the him a chop stick, a 'slender wand with which he could gain prestige by touching or striking an enemy in battle'. It was then that he joined his first war party and 'couped' the enemy Crow.
At the age of 15, it is said that he received his first serious wound from a battle - an arrow through his left sole which left him with a limp (One source states it was a bullet). Sitting Bull became known as being fearless and a brave fighter. By the age of 25, he was leader of the Strong Heart Warrior Society and had increased the Sioux's hunting grounds.
Later on...
- Danced for 1 day and 1 night
- Became nearly unconscious
- Had a vision that 'white soldiers, falling upside down from the sky, would make war upon his people, but the Great Spirit would care for his Indians'
His vision came true and in June 1875 Sitting Bull and another Sioux leader Crazy Horse met General George Armstrong Custer at Little Bighorn. By the end of the battle Custer and his soldiers were all dead.
Sitting Bull thought that this would be the end of his troubles but there were many battles to come. Many of his followers gave up and retreated back to the reservations. Sitting Bull did not give up, he left a note to the soldiers saying: "You scare all the buffalo away. I want to hunt in this place. I want you to turn back from here. If you don't, I will fight you again."
Sitting Bull moved to Canada to avoid being captured but the shortage of buffalo for food and constant wandering forced him to surrender. He was held as a prisoner for about 2 years. He was then sent to join other Sioux in a reservation, The Standing Rock Agency. He sampled some of the whites' 'innovations,' he started to farm and he sent his children to Government schools. He had many wives and children; he was especially fond of 'Crow Foot' and 'Standing Holy'.
In 1885 Sitting Bull joined 'Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show'. He travelled with it around the US and Canada. They re-enacted some of the famous battles like Little Bighorn they also showed horse races etc.
When Sitting Bull returned to his reservation in about 1889 he found that the Indians were practicing a new religious practice, the Ghost Dance. They believed that the world would open up and swallow the white men or that they would be buried with soil. The Indians would be lifted up into the spirit world while the earth was restored to its natural state before the Europeans came. Then they would be replaced there, with the ghosts of all their ancestors. Sitting Bull didn't think this would happen but let the people believe what they wanted. The federal agencies were worried that the movement was becoming more militaristic and might escalate to rebellion, so they sent in extra troops to the reservations. Sitting Bull worried about this but Kicking Bear assured him that, 'if the dancers wore their Ghost Dance Shirts, painted with magic symbols, the soldiers bullets would not strike them.'
The Indian Police were sent to arrest Sitting Bull because the government saw his leadership as a possible threat, namely his connection to the Ghost Dance. They did not intend to kill him, but his bodyguard misunderstood and opened fire on the officers. Sitting Bull was fatally shot. Six of the Indian Police were killed [connects to 5 other ODMP memorials].
Sitting Bull was buried near the military cemetery in Fort Yates, North Dakota; his remains were moved to Mobridge in South Dakota. To this day, however, there is disagreement about where his remains are located. Some claim that he never was moved from Fort Yates to Mobridge, others argue that only part of his remains were moved.
A nephew of Sitting Bull was Chief White Bull. White Bull's grandson Chief Dave Bald Eagle served in 4th US Cavalry and the 82nd Airborne .
References
Newson, T. M. 1827-1893. (Thomas McLean). Thrilling scenes among the Indians. With a graphic description of Custer's last fight with Sitting Bull. Chicago and New York: Belford, Clarke and Co., 1884. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/History. Newson
Reno, Marcus A., 1835-1889, (Marcus Albert). The official record of a court of inquiry convened at Chicago, Illinois, January 13, 1879, by the President of the United States upon the request of Major Marcus A. Reno, 7th U.S. Cavalry, to investigate his conduct at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, June 25-26, 1876. Pacific Palisades, Calif.: 1951. http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/History. Reno