Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotȟake; c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man, warrior, and band leader renowned for spiritually guiding Lakota and allied tribes in resistance against U.S. military campaigns to seize the Black Hills and enforce treaty relocations during the Great Sioux War of 1876–1877.[1] Born into a prominent Hunkpapa family near the Grand River in present-day South Dakota, he earned his name after counting coup at age 14 and rose through warrior societies while advocating preservation of traditional Lakota lifeways amid encroaching white settlement and violation of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty.[2][3] In June 1876, during a Sun Dance ceremony, Sitting Bull experienced a vision of U.S. soldiers falling "upside down" into the Lakota camp, which he interpreted as a prophecy of victory; this preceded the June 25 Battle of the Little Bighorn, where approximately 7,000 Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho under leaders including Sitting Bull's influence annihilated Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry detachment of over 200 men, marking the U.S. Army's worst defeat by Native American forces.[4][1] Although past prime fighting age, Sitting Bull did not personally engage in combat but dispatched warriors and provided ceremonial leadership that bolstered tribal resolve against federal orders to report to agencies.[2][3] Following the victory, pursued by U.S. forces, he led his band into exile in Canada for four years before surrendering at Fort Buford on July 20, 1881, due to famine and declining buffalo herds.[1][2] Imprisoned briefly at Fort Randall, Sitting Bull later joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West show in 1885, performing for audiences and earning income through autographs and appearances, which highlighted his fame but also deepened internal tribal divisions over accommodation with whites.[1][2] By 1890, his support for the Ghost Dance movement—a spiritual revival promising restoration of traditional life and buffalo—alarmed reservation agent James McLaughlin, who feared it incited unrest akin to prior conflicts; during an attempted arrest on December 15 at Standing Rock Agency, Sitting Bull resisted, leading to gunfire in which Indian police shot him in the chest and head, killing him instantly along with several followers.[1][3] His death, occurring amid rising tensions before the Wounded Knee Massacre weeks later, underscored ongoing Lakota defiance and U.S. efforts to suppress perceived threats through native intermediaries, cementing his legacy as a symbol of unyielding sovereignty.[2][1]
Early Life and Formative Experiences
Birth, Family, and Cultural Upbringing
Sitting Bull, originally named Jumping Badger, was born around 1831 near the Grand River in present-day South Dakota to a prominent family within the Hunkpapa band of the Lakota Sioux.[2] [5] His father, known as Returns Again, was a renowned warrior and chief in the tribe, while two uncles also held positions as chiefs, underscoring the family's influence in Hunkpapa leadership circles.[2] [6] Raised in the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Hunkpapa Lakota, who roamed the Great Plains in pursuit of bison herds, Sitting Bull's early years centered on the horse-and-buffalo economy that defined Plains Indian existence in the early 19th century.[1] [5] The band lived in portable tipis, migrated seasonally with the buffalo, and relied on hunting for sustenance, clothing, tools, and shelter, utilizing nearly every part of the animal in a highly adaptive, non-agricultural society.[5] Boys like Jumping Badger learned essential skills through observation, play, and early participation: horsemanship for communal hunts, basic weaponry, and the cultural virtues of bravery, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom emphasized in Lakota oral traditions and kinship networks known as tiospaye.[1] [7] By age 10, Sitting Bull demonstrated these virtues by killing his first buffalo, a rite signaling the transition from childhood dependency to contributing hunter within the band's survival-oriented structure.[1] [2] Despite a childhood reputation for being deliberate or "slow" in demeanor, he engaged in competitive games and physical training that prepared Hunkpapa youth for the warrior ethos central to tribal defense and raiding against rivals.[2] This upbringing instilled a deep connection to Lakota spiritual and communal practices, where leadership emerged not by heredity alone but through proven deeds in a decentralized band system.[1]Youth, Vision Quests, and Early Warfare
Sitting Bull was born around 1831 near the Grand River in present-day South Dakota, into a prominent Hunkpapa Lakota family; his father, Jumping Bull, was a respected warrior and leader, and his uncles also held chiefly positions within the tribe.[2][1] As a youth, he was initially named Jumping Badger, reflecting the energetic behavior typical of Lakota boys, but later earned the childhood name Hunkesni, meaning "Slow," due to his deliberate and thoughtful demeanor, a trait that persisted throughout his life.[5] Lakota boys, including Sitting Bull, underwent rigorous training in practical skills essential for survival and warfare, such as running, hunting, and horsemanship, within a cultural framework emphasizing communal rites and spiritual preparation.[5] By age 10, Sitting Bull demonstrated proficiency by killing his first buffalo, a significant rite marking his emerging capability as a provider and hunter among the Hunkpapa.[1][5] Vision quests formed a core part of Lakota male initiation, involving isolation, fasting, and prayer to seek guidance from Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit); Sitting Bull participated in these traditions during his youth, fostering his lifelong spiritual inclinations toward introspection and communion with nature, though specific visions from this period are not detailed in historical records beyond their role in personal identity formation.[8] At age 14, around 1845, Sitting Bull joined his first war party, accompanying his father on a raid against the Crow tribe, traditional enemies of the Lakota over territorial disputes in the northern Plains.[9] During the encounter, he counted his first coup—an act of bravery entailing close proximity to the enemy to strike, touch, or scalp without killing—on a fallen Crow warrior, earning public praise from the tribe and the adult name Tatanka Iyotake, or "Sitting Bull," symbolizing unyielding strength akin to a buffalo bull refusing to rise.[1][5] This feat established his reputation for fearlessness, as Lakota warfare valued such personal honors over mass kills, and it propelled him into warrior status amid ongoing intertribal conflicts that honed skills later applied against settler incursions.[9]Conflicts with United States Expansion (Pre-1876)
Involvement in Red Cloud's War
Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota leader emerging as a respected warrior by the mid-1860s, contributed to the Lakota resistance during Red Cloud's War (1866–1868) through targeted raids on U.S. forts along the upper Missouri River, complementing Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud's primary campaign against Bozeman Trail outposts in Wyoming Territory.[10] While Red Cloud's forces inflicted decisive defeats, such as the Fetterman massacre on December 21, 1866, where 81 U.S. soldiers were killed, Sitting Bull's band operated farther north, harassing installations like Fort Buford (established June 1866 near the North Dakota-Montana border), Fort Berthold, and Fort Stevenson to strain American logistics and protect Lakota hunting grounds.[11][12] From approximately 1865 to 1868, Sitting Bull led multiple war parties in these assaults, focusing on Fort Buford as a key threat deep within Hunkpapa territory opposite the Yellowstone River's mouth.[13] These operations involved hit-and-run tactics to capture horses, disrupt supply convoys, and intimidate garrisons, with documented attacks in winter 1866 prompting U.S. reinforcements; for instance, Company strength at Buford increased amid reports of Sitting Bull-directed raids that wounded soldiers and targeted livestock herds.[14][13] His efforts aligned with broader Lakota strategy but remained localized, reflecting Hunkpapa autonomy rather than direct coordination with Red Cloud's southern forces.[12] The cumulative pressure from such actions, alongside Red Cloud's victories, forced the U.S. to negotiate the Treaty of Fort Laramie on April 29, 1868, abandoning the Bozeman Trail forts and recognizing Lakota control over the Powder River Country.[15] Sitting Bull, however, rejected treaty concessions as inadequate, refusing to sign and continuing armed opposition to white encroachment, which foreshadowed his later leadership in the Great Sioux War.[2]Raids, Treaties, and Escalating Tensions
In the mid-1860s, Sitting Bull led Hunkpapa Lakota warriors in raids against U.S. military outposts and emigrant wagon trains traversing the northern Plains, targeting encroachments into traditional buffalo hunting territories. These actions intensified during Red Cloud's War (1866–1868), where he coordinated strikes alongside Oglala leader Red Cloud against forts built along the Bozeman Trail, including assaults on supply lines and garrisons that aimed to secure settler access to Montana gold fields.[15] Sitting Bull's band specifically attacked Forts Berthold, Buford, and Stevenson along the Missouri River in present-day North Dakota, disrupting U.S. efforts to control river traffic and protect settlers.[16] The Fetterman Fight on December 21, 1866, exemplified the ferocity of these raids, with Lakota and Northern Cheyenne warriors ambushing and killing 81 U.S. soldiers near Fort Phil Kearny, though Sitting Bull's direct command role in that engagement remains tied to broader Hunkpapa support for Red Cloud's strategy.[17] U.S. military reports documented over 200 such incidents between 1865 and 1868, attributing significant losses to Lakota hit-and-run tactics that exploited superior knowledge of the terrain.[2] These operations forced the abandonment of the Bozeman Trail forts by 1868, marking a temporary victory for Plains tribes but sowing seeds for future reprisals as white settlement pressures mounted. The Treaty of Fort Laramie, signed on April 29, 1868, aimed to resolve these conflicts by guaranteeing Sioux control over the Powder River Country and Great Sioux Reservation in exchange for safe passage for emigrants and railroads, but Sitting Bull refused to participate or endorse it, distrusting U.S. commitments after repeated violations of prior agreements like the 1851 Horse Creek Treaty.[18] As a non-signatory, he maintained his band's autonomy outside agency oversight, continuing seasonal hunts and sporadic raids into the early 1870s to assert territorial claims against survey parties and freighters.[19] His stance reflected a broader factional divide among Lakota leaders, with treaty adherents like Red Cloud accepting annuities while "hostiles" like Sitting Bull prioritized nomadic freedom over federal rations. Tensions escalated post-1868 as U.S. agents failed to enforce treaty boundaries, allowing unauthorized incursions by miners and hunters that depleted buffalo herds essential to Lakota survival; by 1872, Sitting Bull's warriors clashed with troops near the Yellowstone River, underscoring unresolved grievances over unceded lands.[17] Government records noted at least 15 major skirmishes involving his band between 1869 and 1875, often in response to agency demands for surrender of "hostile" elements, which Sitting Bull rejected as coercive assimilation tactics.[16] This pattern of defiance, coupled with shrinking game populations—buffalo numbers plummeted from an estimated 30 million in 1865 to under 1 million by 1875—heightened the stakes, positioning non-treaty groups for intensified confrontation as federal policy shifted toward total subjugation of unreserved Indians.[6]The Great Sioux War and Peak Resistance
Prelude: Black Hills Gold Rush and Sun Dance Vision
The Treaty of Fort Laramie, signed on April 29, 1868, between the United States and various Sioux bands including the Lakota, designated the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, granting the Sioux exclusive rights to the territory west of the Missouri River for hunting and settlement purposes.[19] In July 1874, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's Black Hills Expedition, authorized under the treaty for scientific purposes, discovered gold deposits in French Creek, with findings publicized in the New York Sun on August 4, 1874, sparking widespread interest.[20] This triggered a rapid influx of miners into the region, with dozens entering by late 1874 despite army evacuations, and thousands—estimated at 3,000 by the end of 1875—settling in boomtowns like Custer City, directly violating the treaty's protections.[21] The U.S. government offered to purchase the Black Hills from the Sioux for $6 million in 1875, but negotiations failed as Sioux leaders, viewing the hills as sacred, rejected the proposal, while federal authorities increasingly prioritized miner protection over enforcement, escalating territorial disputes.[22] Amid these encroachments, non-treaty Sioux bands under leaders like Sitting Bull refused relocation to agencies, prompting President Ulysses S. Grant's administration in November 1875 to issue an ultimatum via the Bureau of Indian Affairs: all Sioux must report to reservations by January 31, 1876, or face military action as hostiles.[23] Many Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, including Sitting Bull's Hunkpapa band, remained in traditional hunting grounds along the Powder and Rosebud rivers, evading compliance and preparing defenses against anticipated U.S. campaigns.[24] In mid-June 1876, as U.S. forces mobilized under General George Crook and others, Sitting Bull organized a Sun Dance ceremony near the Rosebud River in Montana Territory, drawing a large encampment of Lakota and Cheyenne.[1] During the Sun Dance on approximately June 16–17, Sitting Bull, as a holy man, underwent extreme self-sacrifice by having 50 pieces of flesh incised from each arm—totaling 100 pieces—while fasting without water for 24 to 48 hours, pledging this offering to Wakan Tanka (the Great Spirit) in exchange for guidance.[25] [8] In a trance induced by the ordeal, he experienced a vision of white soldiers tumbling headfirst into the Indian camp like falling grasshoppers, interpreted by participants as a prophecy of imminent victory over U.S. troops invading their lands.[8] This vision galvanized the non-treaty factions, boosting morale and contributing to the decision to consolidate forces rather than disperse, setting the stage for resistance against the approaching U.S. columns.[1] Sitting Bull did not lead warriors in battle but emphasized the spiritual imperative of the prophecy, reinforcing unity among the gathered tribes numbering in the thousands.[25]Battle of the Little Bighorn
In the weeks preceding the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull, as spiritual leader of the Hunkpapa Lakota, conducted a Sun Dance ceremony around June 1, 1876, near the Rosebud River in Montana Territory, where he pierced his arms and danced without water for a day and a half, receiving a vision of American soldiers falling headfirst into the Native encampment like falling grasshoppers, interpreted by participants as a prophecy of victory against invading forces.[25] [1] This vision bolstered morale among the gathered Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, who had assembled a massive non-treaty village of approximately 7,000 people, including 1,500 to 2,000 warriors, along the Little Bighorn River to resist U.S. military campaigns enforcing the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty's unheeded restrictions on their movements.[4] [2] Sitting Bull urged defensive resistance rather than offensive raids, emphasizing protection of the village over aggression toward distant forts, which aligned with the causal dynamics of a large, family-centered encampment vulnerable to surprise attacks but capable of overwhelming retaliation if provoked.[25] [26] On June 25, 1876, elements of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, totaling about 700 men in the broader column with Custer commanding roughly 210 in his immediate battalion, detected the village and launched a divided assault, underestimating the Native forces' size and cohesion due to flawed scouting and intelligence that pegged warriors at around 800 rather than the actual 1,500-2,000.[27] [4] Sitting Bull, at age 45 and prioritizing his role as overall camp leader, did not engage in direct combat but observed from a ridge overlooking the fray, directing non-combatants to safety while tactical leadership fell to warriors like Crazy Horse and Gall, who coordinated counterattacks that encircled and annihilated Custer's separated units within hours.[2] [26] [28] The Native forces exploited terrain advantages and numerical superiority, with warriors using repeating rifles alongside traditional weapons to repel advances, resulting in 268 U.S. deaths including Custer, against 31 to 136 Native casualties depending on accounts from survivors.[27] [4] The victory at Little Bighorn, while tactically decisive, stemmed from U.S. strategic overextension and underestimation of unified Native resolve under figures like Sitting Bull, whose pre-battle spiritual authority had drawn disparate bands together, though his non-combatant status underscores that battlefield success relied on the initiative of fighting leaders rather than any single directive from him.[25] [2] This event, occurring amid the Great Sioux War, temporarily disrupted U.S. campaigns but prompted intensified military pursuit, as empirical records show the village dispersing soon after to evade larger reinforcements.[1] [26]Aftermath, Pursuit, and Flight to Canada
Following the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25–26, 1876, Sitting Bull's Hunkpapa Lakota band, along with allied non-treaty Sioux and Cheyenne, dispersed to evade intensified U.S. military operations aimed at compelling all Sioux to report to reservations by the January 31, 1876, deadline, which had been ignored.[29] The U.S. Army, reinforced under the Department of the Platte and Dakota Territory commands, launched sustained campaigns through the fall and winter of 1876–1877, involving over 4,000 troops under generals George Crook, Alfred Terry, and Nelson A. Miles, targeting villages and supply lines to exploit the Sioux's vulnerability in harsh weather.[30] Sitting Bull, prioritizing the protection of families over sustained warfare—he led no formal army but guided non-combatants—engaged in defensive maneuvers, including an October 15, 1876, raid by 400–600 warriors on a U.S. Army wagon train escort near the Tongue River cantonment, which delayed reinforcements but yielded no decisive advantage.[29] By October 10, 1876, his group crossed the Yellowstone River to reposition northward, followed by a Missouri River crossing on March 17, 1877, amid dwindling buffalo herds and mounting pressure.[31] Colonel Miles, operating from the newly established Fort Keogh in August 1876, pursued aggressively with the 5th Infantry; on December 18, 1876, his forces assaulted Sitting Bull's 120-lodge village along the Powder River, forcing the band to flee and abandon tipis, robes, and meat caches in sub-zero conditions, though Miles suffered casualties from counterattacks.[31] These winter engagements eroded Sioux cohesion, with leaders like Crazy Horse surrendering on May 7, 1877, at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, but Sitting Bull rejected terms, viewing U.S. demands as incompatible with Lakota autonomy.[29] In early May 1877—specifically around May 6—he led approximately 1,000 followers in 135 lodges across the border via Frenchman's Creek into Canada's Saskatchewan region, settling near Pinto Horse Butte in the North-West Territories, beyond U.S. jurisdiction.[31] There, the exiles encountered Major James Morrow Walsh of the North-West Mounted Police at Fort Walsh, who enforced British neutrality by disarming aggressors but tolerated the group's presence amid scarce game, initiating a period of uneasy refuge lasting until 1881.[31]Surrender, Exile, and Reservation Adaptation
Negotiated Surrender at Fort Buford
Following the depletion of bison herds and ensuing starvation in Canada, where Sitting Bull and his Hunkpapa Lakota band had sought refuge since May 1877, pressures mounted for their return to the United States.[32] By 1881, harsh winters and dwindling resources reduced the group to approximately 230 individuals, prompting negotiations with U.S. authorities.[33] Canadian officials, facing similar hardships among Plains tribes, urged Sitting Bull's band to either integrate or surrender to American forces, culminating in months of diplomatic exchanges between tribal leaders, Canadian mounties, and U.S. military representatives.[34] U.S. Army Major David H. Brotherton, commanding officer at Fort Buford in the Dakota Territory, played a central role in the final negotiations.[35] On July 19, 1881, Sitting Bull led his followers—comprising about 35 families—to the fort, where terms were finalized promising amnesty and provisions in exchange for surrender of arms and acceptance of reservation life. The agreement reflected pragmatic concessions rather than military capitulation, as Sitting Bull's band had evaded direct defeat post-Little Bighorn but could no longer sustain nomadic existence amid ecological collapse driven by overhunting and settlement pressures.[2] The formal surrender occurred on July 20, 1881, with Sitting Bull symbolically relinquishing his Winchester rifle last, handed over by his young son Crow Foot to Brotherton.[32] He declared, "I, Tatanka Iyotanka, wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle," underscoring his status as a holdout leader.[34] In return, the U.S. provided immediate rations and transport, though amnesty proved conditional, leading to initial imprisonment as prisoners of war at Fort Randall before relocation to the Standing Rock Agency.[32] This event marked the effective end of Sitting Bull's independent resistance, driven by survival imperatives rather than coerced submission.[2]Imprisonment and Return to Standing Rock Reservation
Following his surrender at Fort Buford on July 20, 1881, Sitting Bull and roughly 158 Hunkpapa Lakota were transported down the Missouri River to Fort Randall in Dakota Territory, where they were detained as prisoners of war.[32][37] The group established a camp south of the fort's barracks, living under military guard with loose surveillance rather than strict confinement in cells.[37] They received government rations, though conditions reflected the transitional hardships of captivity, including limited autonomy after years of nomadic resistance.[38] During the approximately two-year detention from July 1881 to November 1883, Sitting Bull engaged in cultural preservation efforts, producing ledger art drawings that depicted key events from his life, such as battles and visions, using available paper and pencils provided by officers.[38] These works, later recognized as historical records, offered insight into Lakota perspectives amid enforced idleness and adaptation to reservation-era constraints.[39] Interactions with fort personnel were occasional, with Sitting Bull maintaining a dignified stance, though the period marked a profound shift from leadership in the free plains to supervised dependence.[40] In November 1883, Sitting Bull and his band were released from Fort Randall and relocated to the Standing Rock Indian Agency at Fort Yates, North Dakota, integrating into the reservation system under U.S. Indian Office oversight.[37] This transfer ended formal POW status but placed him under agency agent James McLaughlin's authority, where he received an allotment of land and cattle as part of assimilation policies, though he resisted full compliance with farming mandates.[40] The move to Standing Rock initiated a phase of uneasy adaptation, with Sitting Bull's influence among the Lakota persisting despite government efforts to diminish traditional authority structures.[41]Public Life and Economic Realities
Participation in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
Following his release from imprisonment at Fort Randall in 1883 and return to the Standing Rock Reservation, Sitting Bull faced economic hardships amid inadequate government rations and annuities, prompting him to seek alternative income sources. In June 1885, he signed a contract on June 6 with representatives of William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) to join the Wild West show, receiving permission from the reservation's Indian agent.[42][43] The agreement stipulated a signing bonus of $125 and a weekly salary of $50—approximately 20 times the pay for other Native participants—plus exclusive rights to revenue from selling signed photographs and autographs.[44][45] Sitting Bull's role was limited to ceremonial appearances rather than combat reenactments, reflecting both his status and reluctance to perform simulated battles. He rode a light gray show horse in the opening procession and arena parades, dressed in traditional regalia, often circling the grounds once per performance while crowds cheered.[26][46] His participation drew massive audiences, boosting the show's early success, which generated nearly $100,000 in net profits that year, though Sitting Bull's own earnings supplemented reservation shortfalls.[47] The tour followed a North American itinerary, including stops in Toronto and Montreal in August 1885, where Sitting Bull posed for studio photographs with Cody at William Notman's gallery.[48] He engaged with the press during encampments, discussing Sioux perspectives, but avoided endorsing the show's narratives glorifying frontier conquests.[49] Interactions with performers like Annie Oakley, whom he had met earlier, highlighted personal affinities amid professional tensions, as Sitting Bull reportedly adopted her as his daughter in honorary Lakota tradition.[26] After four months, Sitting Bull departed in October 1885, returning to Standing Rock with earnings that temporarily alleviated his band's privations but did not alter his underlying distrust of U.S. assimilation policies.[50] The brief alliance with Cody fostered a pragmatic rapport—evidenced by Cody's later efforts to repatriate Sitting Bull's horse post-mortem—but underscored economic coercion over cultural accommodation in reservation-era Native decisions.[51]Interactions with Figures like Annie Oakley and Broader Implications
Sitting Bull formed a notable friendship with sharpshooter Annie Oakley during his 1885 participation in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, where both performed. Impressed by Oakley's marksmanship and demeanor, Sitting Bull bestowed upon her the Lakota name Watanya Cicilla, translated as "Little Sure Shot," which became her enduring stage moniker.[52][53] He symbolically adopted her as his daughter, a gesture Oakley reciprocated by referring to him as her "adopted father" and noting his affectionate treatment of her.[54][55] Prior to Oakley's formal joining of the show, Sitting Bull had arranged a personal meeting and paid $65 for a photograph with her, indicating early admiration.[56] These interactions exemplified rare cross-cultural bonds amid post-surrender constraints on Native leaders, allowing Sitting Bull limited agency in a performative context controlled by white entrepreneurs. His involvement in the Wild West Show, motivated partly by Oakley's presence, provided essential income—reportedly $125 per week plus bonuses—which he frequently distributed to impoverished urban children encountered on tour, reflecting traditional Lakota generosity despite his captive status.[57][58] Broader implications included economic adaptation for Sitting Bull and his band, who faced reservation hardships, as show earnings supplemented inadequate government rations and enabled cultural continuity through selective public engagement.[59] However, such participations carried tensions: Sitting Bull refused to reenact battles like Little Bighorn, limiting his role to processions and speeches, and exited after one season due to discomfort with the spectacle's demands.[60] The shows themselves romanticized frontier conflicts while featuring authentic Native figures, fostering public perceptions of Indians as relics of a vanishing era, yet Sitting Bull's dignified presence challenged simplistic narratives of defeat by humanizing Lakota leadership to audiences.[50] This engagement highlighted causal trade-offs in assimilation pressures, where economic necessity intersected with cultural preservation efforts, though U.S. Indian agents later criticized such activities as undermining reservation authority.[61]Final Years: Ghost Dance and Confrontation
Embrace of the Ghost Dance Movement
In the fall of 1890, amid severe economic hardships on the Standing Rock Reservation—including crop failures, reduced beef rations, and ongoing land losses—the Ghost Dance movement, a millenarian spiritual revival originating from Paiute prophet Wovoka in Nevada, rapidly spread among the Lakota Sioux.[62] Promising the return of buffalo herds, resurrection of ancestors, and expulsion of white settlers through ritual dancing and moral living, the dance appealed to traditionalists disillusioned with reservation life.[63] Sitting Bull, residing at Standing Rock since his 1883 surrender, viewed the movement as a non-violent means of cultural and spiritual renewal, aligning with his lifelong resistance to assimilation.[2] Sitting Bull actively facilitated the Ghost Dance's introduction at Standing Rock by inviting Kicking Bear, an Oglala Lakota delegate who had visited Wovoka and learned the rites, to visit in October 1890.[62] Kicking Bear conducted demonstrations and teachings, drawing hundreds of Hunkpapa followers to participate in the circle dances, often lasting days and accompanied by trance-like visions and ghost shirts believed to repel bullets.[64] Sitting Bull hosted these gatherings at his cabin, lending his considerable influence as a spiritual leader and Little Bighorn victor to legitimize the practice, though accounts differ on his personal participation in the dances themselves—he was described as curious and supportive rather than an fervent dancer.[2] [63] This endorsement escalated tensions with Indian Agent James McLaughlin, who banned the dances in November 1890, labeling them a threat to order and fearing they masked preparations for uprising, influenced by reports of armed dancers and millenarian fervor.[65] Sitting Bull defended the movement, arguing it was harmless prayer and defiantly proposing that McLaughlin consult Wovoka directly for verification, while continuing to permit dances on his land.[66] His stance reflected a calculated embrace: not outright rebellion, but a rejection of federal suppression of Lakota spirituality, prioritizing tribal autonomy over agent demands amid verifiable grievances like the 1889 Sioux land cessions under duress.[67] By December, intelligence reports exaggerated Sitting Bull's role in mobilizing followers for potential exodus, framing his support as incitement despite lacking evidence of violence.[1]Rising Conflicts with Indian Agents
As Sitting Bull resided at his camp on the Grand River within the Standing Rock Reservation after his return from imprisonment, frictions with U.S. Indian agents intensified due to his persistent influence over Lakota followers, which undermined the agents' authority to enforce assimilation policies and disregard traditional leadership structures.[1] Major James McLaughlin, the Indian agent at Standing Rock since 1881, viewed Sitting Bull's status as a threat to reservation governance, particularly as Sitting Bull rejected the agents' allotment systems and cattle distribution practices that favored compliant headsmen.[64] These tensions peaked in the summer of 1890 when the Ghost Dance—a messianic ritual promising renewal of the buffalo and expulsion of whites—spread to Sitting Bull's camp via emissaries like Kicking Bear, whom Sitting Bull hosted and permitted to teach the dance despite federal prohibitions on such gatherings.[62] McLaughlin, interpreting the armed dances as harbingers of rebellion amid broader Sioux unrest, repeatedly urged Sitting Bull to disband the practitioners and relocate to the agency headquarters, but Sitting Bull demurred, proposing instead a joint expedition westward to verify the Messiah's existence, an offer McLaughlin rejected.[68] [69] By November 1890, McLaughlin's correspondence with superiors framed Sitting Bull as the linchpin of the movement's persistence at Standing Rock, asserting that his removal would dismantle the dances, as followers deferred to his spiritual authority over agency dictates.[67] This assessment, rooted in reports of Sitting Bull's camp hosting up to 200 dancers and his refusal to endorse disarmament, prompted McLaughlin to authorize Indian police for an arrest on December 15, escalating administrative coercion into direct confrontation.[70] [71]Assassination on December 15, 1890
On December 14, 1890, U.S. Indian Agent James McLaughlin at Standing Rock Agency ordered the arrest of Sitting Bull, citing his perceived leadership in the Ghost Dance movement as a threat to reservation order.[67] McLaughlin instructed Lieutenant Bull Head, a member of the Indian Police, to secure Sitting Bull quietly and transport him to the agency, backed by additional police and a wagon.[70] The operation aimed to prevent Sitting Bull from joining Big Foot's band, amid fears of escalating unrest.[72] Early the next morning, around 6:00 a.m. on December 15, approximately 40 Indian Police, led by Bull Head and Shave Head, surrounded Sitting Bull's cabin near the Cannon Ball River on the Standing Rock Reservation.[69] The officers entered and informed the 59-year-old Hunkpapa Lakota leader of the arrest order, but Sitting Bull resisted, declaring he would not go and calling to his followers outside.[64] As police escorted him toward the waiting wagon, his half-brother Black Bird, son Crow Foot, and about 200 supporters gathered, shouting encouragement and refusing to disperse.[70] A shot rang out—accounts from McLaughlin's report attribute it to Jumping Bull, a supporter, striking Bull Head in the side—prompting immediate retaliation.[72] Bull Head, grasping Sitting Bull, fired into his side, but Sitting Bull or Crow Foot then shot Bull Head in the head, mortally wounding him.[71] In the chaos, Sergeant Red Tomahawk fired the fatal shot to Sitting Bull's head at close range, killing him instantly.[69] The skirmish resulted in six deaths: Sitting Bull, Crow Foot (aged 14), Black Bird, and three other followers, alongside Bull Head and five other police wounded, two of whom later died.[70] [72] McLaughlin's subsequent report to the Indian Office justified the action as necessary self-defense during a resisted arrest, though critics, including some Lakota, viewed it as a targeted killing to eliminate a symbolic resistor to assimilation policies.[71] The incident heightened tensions, contributing to the flight of survivors and prelude to the Wounded Knee Massacre two weeks later.[70]