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Sitting Bull

Hunkpapa Lakota medicine man and holy man (1831-1890) · United States · Died at 59

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A Hunkpapa Lakota leader who held out against U.S. expansion longer than almost anyone, then was shot dead by Indian agency police on his own reservation when authorities feared he might join a religious movement.

PoliticiansPoliticianPoliticsUnited StatesAmericas19th Century

A life in dates

2025The anniversary of their death, on 15 December.15 December 20251890Died15 December 18901883“I am here by the will of the Great Spirit, and by his will I am chief.… I want to tell you that if the Great Spirit has chosen anyone to be the chief of this country, it is myself.”In their words22 August 1883Testimony to the Dawes Commission (22 August 1883)

1876“This is a good day to die. Follow me!”In their words25 June 1876Rallying cry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn (25 June 1876), quoted in Campaigns of General Custer in the North-west by Judson Elliott

1868“I hardly sustain myself beneath the weight of white men's blood that I have shed.”In their wordsRecorded by the Jesuit priest Pierre-Jean De Smet after a council with Sitting Bull on June 19,1868. Published in Utley, Robert M. The

1867“I have killed, robbed, and injured too many white men to believe in a good peace. They are medicine, and I would eventually die a lingering death.”In their wordsRecorded by Charles Larpenteur at Fort Union in 1867. Published in Utley, Robert M. The Lance and the Shield. New York: Henry Holt and Co.,

“Look at me, see if I am poor, or my people either. The whites may get me at last, as you say, but I will have good times till then.”In their wordsAlso told to Charles Larpenteur at Fort Union in 1867. Published in Utley, Robert M. The Lance and the Shield. New York: Henry Holt and

1831Born

Also in Deutsch

Photos 11

An 1881 cabinet card of Sitting BullAn 1881 cabinet card of Sitting BullThe area of Big Horn County, Montana where the Battle of the Little Bighorn was foughtThe area of Big Horn County, Montana where the Battle of the Little Bighorn was foughtFort Buford's commanding officer's quarters in present-day Williams County, North Dakota, where Sitting Bull's surrender ceremony was heldFort Buford's commanding officer's quarters in present-day Williams County, North Dakota, where Sitting Bull's surrender ceremony was heldSitting Bull and family 1881 at Fort Randall. Rear L-R: Good Feather Woman (sister), Walks Looking (daughter); Front L-R: Her Holy Door (mother), Sitting Bull, Many Horses (daughter) with her son, Courting a WomanSitting Bull and family 1881 at Fort Randall. Rear L-R: Good Feather Woman (sister), Walks Looking (daughter); Front L-R: Her Holy Door (mother), Sitting Bull, Many Horses (daughter) with her son, Courting a WomanSitting Bull in 1885Sitting Bull in 1885Capture and death of Sitting Bull, an 1890 lithographCapture and death of Sitting Bull, an 1890 lithograph

In their own words 10

,
Sitting Bull
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10 statements, newest first

  1. I am here by the will of the Great Spirit, and by his will I am chief.… I want to tell you that if the Great Spirit has chosen anyone to be the chief of this country, it is myself.

    Aug 22, 1883, Testimony to the Dawes Commission (22 August 1883), Own words

  2. This is a good day to die. Follow me!

    Jun 25, 1876, Rallying cry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn (25 June 1876), quoted in Campaigns of General Custer in the North-west by Judson Elliott, Own words

  3. I hardly sustain myself beneath the weight of white men's blood that I have shed.

    1868, Recorded by the Jesuit priest Pierre-Jean De Smet after a council with Sitting Bull on June 19,1868. Published in Utley, Robert M. The, Own words

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About this person

Sitting Bull led his people through decades of resistance to government policies that sought to break Lakota sovereignty. Before the Battle of the Little Bighorn, he had a vision of soldiers "as thick as grasshoppers" falling upside down into the Lakota camp - three weeks later, on June 25, 1876, confederated Lakota and Northern Cheyenne annihilated Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's battalion. The U.S. sent thousands more troops in response. Sitting Bull refused surrender and in May 1877 led his band north to Wood Mountain in what's now Saskatchewan, staying until 1881 when he returned and surrendered to U.S. forces. After a stint performing with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, he returned to Standing Rock Agency. On December 15, 1890, Indian Service agent James McLaughlin ordered his arrest over fears he'd support the Ghost Dance movement. In the struggle that followed, Standing Rock policemen Lieutenant Bull Head and Red Tomahawk shot him in the chest and head after his supporters opened fire on the arresting party.

Country
United States
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1831 to 1890 · aged 59

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