Sitting Bull: Perhaps America’s best-known chief
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.
A Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux, Sitting Bull led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies. 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 didn’t 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 Bull’s 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 he 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 he’d earned as a leader of his people led him to become chief of the Lakota nation in 1868.
Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw the defeat of the 7th Cavalry under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer on June 25, 1876. Sitting Bull’s leadership motivated his people to a major victory. Months after the battle, Sitting Bull and his group left the United States for Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, where he remained until 1881, at which time he surrendered to U.S. forces. A small remnant of his band under Chief Waŋblí Ǧí decided to stay at Wood Mountain.
After working as a performer, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency in South Dakota. Because of fears that he would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, Indian Service agent James McLaughlin at Fort Yates ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull’s followers and the agency police, Sitting Bull was shot by Standing Rock policemen Lieutenant Bull Head (Tatankapah) and Red Tomahawk (Marcelus Chankpidutah) after the police were fired upon by Sitting Bull’s supporters. His body was taken to nearby Fort Yates for burial, but in 1953, his remains were exhumed and reburied near Mobridge, South Dakota, by his family, who wanted his body to be nearer to his birthplace.
Sitting Bull once said “There are things they tell us that sound good to hear, but when they have accomplished their purpose they will go home and will not try to fulfill our agreements with them.”
The Apostle Paul who called himself The Chief Sinner (First Timothy 1:15.) wrote: “You must understand that in the last days there will come times of much trouble. People will love themselves and money. They will have pride and tell of all the things they have done. They will speak against God. Children and young people will not obey their parents. People will not be thankful and they will not be holy. They will not love each other. No one can get along with them. They will tell lies about others. They will not be able to keep from doing things they know they should not do. They will be wild and want to beat and hurt those who are good. They will not stay true to their friends. They will act without thinking. They will think too much of themselves. They will love fun instead of loving God. They will do things to make it look as if they are Christians. But they will not receive the power that is for a Christian. Keep away from such people” (Second Timothy 3:1-5 NLV).
Adapted from Wikipedia and other sources
