NAME: Sitting Bull OCCUPATION: Warrior BIRTH DATE: 1831 DEATH DATE: December 15, 1890 PLACE OF BIRTH: Grand River, South Dakota PLACE OF DEATH: Grand River, South Dakota Full Name: Sitting Bull Best Known For Sitting Bull was a Teton Dakota Indian chief under whom the Sioux tribes united in their struggle for survival on the North American Great Plains. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Videos see all videos Sitting Bull - No Compromise (0:50) Sitting Bull - The Lakota Family (0:46) Quiz Think you know about Biography? Answer questions and see how you rank against other players. Play Now Home • People • Sitting Bull Sitting Bull - No Compromise watch more videos (2) Print Cite This Synopsis Sitting Bull joined his first war party at 14 and soon gained a reputation for bravery in battle. In 1868 the Sioux accepted peace with the U.S. government, but when gold was discovered in the Black Hills in the mid-1870s, a rush of white prospectors invaded Sioux lands. Sitting Bull responded but could only win battles, not the war. He was arrested and killed in 1890. Contents Synopsis Early Years Defender of His People Sitting Bulls Return Final Years Quotes God made me an Indian. – Sitting Bull Early Years Arguably the most powerful and perhaps famous of all Native American chiefs, Sitting Bull was born in 1831 in what is now called South Dakota. The son of an esteemed Sioux warrior named Returns-Again, Sitting Bull looked up to his father and desired to follow in his footsteps, but didnt show a particular talent for warfare. As a result he was called Slow for his apparent lack of skills. At the age of 10, however, he killed his first buffalo. Four years later, he fought honorably in a battle against a rival clan. He was named Tatanka-Iyotanka, a Lakota name that describes a buffalo bull sitting on its haunches. Much of Sitting Bulls life was shaped by the struggles against an expanding American nation. When Sitting Bull was young he was chosen as leader of the Strong Heart Society. In June 1863 took up arms against the United States for the first time. He fought American soldiers again the following year at the Battle of Killdeer Mountain. In 1865 he led an attack on the newly built Fort Rice in what is now called North Dakota. His skills as a warrior and the respect hed earned as a leader of his people led him to become chief of the Lakota nation in 1868. Defender of His People Confrontation with American soldiers escalated in the mid-1870s after gold was discovered in the Black Hills, a sacred area to Native Americans that the American government had recognized as their land following the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty. As white prospectors rushed into the Sioux lands, the American government tabled the treaty and declared war on any native tribes that prevented it from taking over the land. When Sitting Bull refused to abide by these new conditions, the stage was set for confrontation. Sitting Bulls defense of his land was rooted both in the history of his culture and in the fate he believed awaited his people. At a Sun Dance Ceremony on the Little Bighorn River, where a large community of Native Americans had established a village, Sitting Bull danced for 36 consecutive hours. He finished his performance by informing villagers that he had received a vision in which the American army was defeated. In June 1876, just a few days later, the chief led a successful battle against American forces in the Battle of the Rosebud. A week later he was engaged in battle again, this time against General George Armstrong Custer in the now famous Battle at Little Bighorn. There, Sitting Bull led thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne warriors against Custers undermanned force, wiping out the American general and his 200-plus men. For the U.S. government the defeat was an embarrassment, and the Army doubled down its efforts to wrest control of the territory from Native American tribes.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 01:14:45 +0000
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