Tatanka Iyotanka (Yotanka), a Hunkpapa Sioux leader, was born on
March 31, 1834 at Many Caches on the Grand River near Bullhead, South
Dakota. He was the son of Tatanka Psica, Jumping Badger (sometimes
known as Jumping Bull or Sitting Bull), a Sioux war chief. In
his early years, the lad was known as Hunkesni, “Slow,” but
soon became more widely acclaimed for his courage and strength in
battle. He was head of the Strong Hearts, a warrior society,
and became an important medicine man and tribal councilor, although
he was never a true “chief” of his people.
Sitting
Bull was implacably opposed to the White man’s continual encroachment
on Indian land. Always something of a militant, in the 1860s he was
active in the Plains Indian wars, and his camp became a meeting place for many
tribes in the area who staunchly opposed the Whites. In 1868, following
Red Cloud’s war, the United States government signed a treaty guaranteeing
the Plains Indians a reservation north of the Platte River, plus the right
to hunt buffalo off the reservation. The territory included Paha Sapa
(the Black Hills), an area traditionally regarded as sacred by the Sioux. But
the authorities did little to prevent the Whites from coming onto the reservation;
and when gold was discovered in 1874, thousands of prospectors poured onto
the land, ignoring land ownership and Indian rights. The Indian people
were particularly incensed by the desecration resulting from miners’ digging
into the sacred area, and in the following year, Sitting Bull, as head of the
Sioux war council, made plans with the Cheyenne and Arapaho to force them out.
Recognizing
the dangerous situation, the government ordered all Indians to return to their
reservations by the end of January 1876. When the Indians defied the
order, the Army was moved into the area; the Indians also gathered their own
forces and upwards of 3,000 warriors readied themselves for the coming battle. In
early June, Sitting Bull performed a Sun Dance to determine the outcome; he
danced for more than a day and a half before receiving a vision. In his
vision he saw many White soldiers falling upside down from the sky into the
Indian camp; this was clearly a good sign and the Indians were confident of
victory.
On June
16, at the Battle of the Rosebud, Crazy Horse defeated the troops under General
George Crook, but the vision was not fulfilled until June 25, when General
George Custer and several hundred soldiers were wiped out when they attacked
the Indian camp on the banks of the Little Bighorn. Aroused and humiliated
by these and other defeats, the Army concentrated on a relentless pursuit of
the Sioux. Many surrendered, but Sitting Bull and his followers escaped
into Canada. While they were not welcomed by the Canadians nor helped
through the severe winter, their unwilling hosts did resist United States efforts
to have the Indians returned. Many Indians died, or went back to the
reservation during the bitter winter, and finally on July 19, 1881, Sitting
Bull and the remaining holdouts surrendered at Fort Buford, Montana. He
was imprisoned for two years before being allowed to return to Standing Rock;
but by that time he had become a legend to the Whites, and in 1885 was the
star attraction in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show which traveled throughout
the East.
Sitting
Bull’s heart remained with the Indian needs. He trusted no Whites,
and expected only deceit and lies from them, especially in any treaty negotiation,
for that is all that he had ever experienced. When the government tried
to break up the Sioux reservation, he cautioned his people against being tricked
again into selling their heritage. But the Federal Commission, sent out
in 1889 to negotiate the matter, was able to bypass his influence by meeting
individually with tribal leaders, or in very small groups away from tribal
council meetings.
This divide-and-conquer
technique had long been successful in dealing with Indians, and Sitting Bull
was perhaps the last Sioux leader whose influence was strong enough to unite
the people under one person. When he enthusiastically supported the adoption
of the Ghost Dance movement which had just been introduced by Kicking Bear,
some Indian Agents panicked; they feared that the Ghost Dancers and their strange
ceremonies—so highly charged with emotion—would lead to an uprising,
not recognizing the essentially pacifistic nature of the movement. Indian
Police were sent to arrest Sitting Bull on December 15, 1890, in the hope that
this would end the Ghost Dance. In the melee which ensued, Sitting Bull,
his son Crow Foot, and several others were shot to death by Red Tomahawk and
Bullhead, of the Police group. A few days later, the tragic massacre
at Wounded Knee took place, and the Ghost Dance did indeed cease.
Sitting
Bull was a man of many dimensions, whose actions aroused as mixed emotions
as did his personality. He had several wives—some accounts record
nine—of whom perhaps Pretty Plume, Wiyaka-wastewin, and Zuzela
are best known. He is said to have sired nine children, among whom Crow
Foot and Standing Holy are most frequently mentioned. His intransigence
in the face of White aggression, his courage in defending his people, and his
refusal to step aside in an impossible struggle, have made him into an almost
mythical figure in American history. Among Indian people his organizational
ability, medicine power, and willingness to lead have made him a figure of
respect, even among some who denigrate him as a glory seeker or for not being
a “true chief.”
Source: Great North American Indians by Frederick
J. Duckstander
NATIVE
AMERICAN RHYMES 
