(Tatanka Yotanka,
'sitting buffalo bull'). A noted Sioux warrior and tribal leader of
the Hunkpapa Teton division, born on Grand Rivers, South Dakota, in
1834, his father being Sitting Bull, alias Four Horns, a subchief.
As a boy he was first known as Jumping Badger. He
manifested hunting ability when but 10 years of age, in the pursuit
of buffalo calves. When he was 14 he accompanied his father on the
warpath against the Crows and counted his first coup on the body of
a fallen enemy. On the return of the party his father made a feast,
gave away many horses, and announced that his son had won the right
to be known henceforth by his own name. According to the native
interpretation of a Dakota winter count his name was Four Horn, and
was changed to Sitting Bull when he" made medicine" in 1857. The
name is quite common among the Plains tribes. He rapidly acquired
influence in his own band, being especially skilful in the character
of peacemaker. He took an active part in the Plains wars of the
'60's, and first became widely known to the whites in 1866, when he
led a memorable raid against Ft Buford. Sitting Bull was on the
warpath with his band of followers from various tribes almost continuously from 1869 to
1876, either raiding the frontier posts or making war on the Crows
or the Shoshoni, especially the former. His autographic pictorial
record in the Army Medical Museum at Washington refers chiefly to
contests with the Crows and to horse stealing.
His refusal to go upon a reservation in 1876 led Gen.
Sheridan to begin against him and his followers the campaign which
resulted in the surprise and annihilation of Custer's troop on
Little Bighorn river, Montana, in June. During this battle, in which
2,500 to 3,000 Indian warriors were engaged, Sitting Bull was in the
hills "making medicine," and his accurate foretelling of the battle
enabled him "to come out of the affair with higher honor than he
possessed when he went into it" (McLaughlin). After this fight the
hostiles separated into two parties. Sitting Bull, in command of the
western party, was attacked by Gen. Miles and routed; a large number
of his followers surrendered, but the remainder of the band,
including Sitting Bull himself, escaped to Canada, where they
remained until 1881, when he surrendered at Ft Buford tinder promise
of amnesty and was confined at Ft Randall until 1883.
Although he had surrendered and gone upon a
reservation, Sitting Bull continued unreconciled. It was through his
influence that the Sioux refused to sell their land in 1888; and it
was at his camp at Standing Rock agency and at his invitation that
Kicking Bear organized the first
Ghost dance on the
reservation.
The demand for his arrest was followed by an attempt on
the part of some of his people to rescue him, during which he was
shot and killed by Sergeants Red Tomahawk and Bullhead of the Indian
police, Dec. 15, 1890. His son, Crow Foot, and several others, with
six of the Indian police, were also killed in the struggle. Although
a chief by inheritance, it was rather Sitting Bull's success as an
organizer and his later reputation as a sacred dreamer that brought
him into prominence. According to McLaughlin, "his accuracy of
judgment, knowledge of men, a student-like disposition to observe
natural phenomena, and a deep insight into affairs among Indians and
such white people as he came into contact with, made his stock in
trade, and he made "good medicine." He stood well among his own
people, and was respected for his generosity, quiet disposition, and
steadfast adherence to Indian ideals. He had two wives at the time
of his death (one of whom was known as Pretty Plume), and was the
father of 9 children. His eldest son was called Louis.
Consult Dunn, Massacres of
the Mts., 1886; Finerty, War Path and Bivouac, 1890; W. F. Johnson,
Life of Sitting Bull, 1891; McLaughlin, My Friend the Indian, 1910;
Mooney in 14th Rep. B. A. E., 1896; Walker, Campaigns of General
Ouster and Surrender of Sitting Bull, 1881.
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