Monday Open Thread | Native American Chiefs |Sitting Bull

Posted on September 2, 2013 by SouthernGirl2

sitting-bull-1419Sitting Bull was a medicine man, or holy man, of the Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux), who were being driven from their land in the Black Hills. He took up arms against the white man, refusing to be transported to the Indian Territory. Under his leadership as a war chief, the Lakota tribes united in their struggle for survival on the northern plains.

Sitting Bull was born on the Grand River in present-day South Dakota in 1831. His father bore the name Sitting Bull, and his mother was named Her-Holy-Door. When he was born, his parents named him Jumping Badger.

As a little boy, Jumping Badger, there was nothing remarkable to set him apart from other children of his tribe. His nickname was Hunkesi, meaning, “Slow,” because he never hurried and did everything with care.

At an early age, however, the boy distinguished himself as a leader. On his first hunt at the age of 10, Jumping Badger killed his first buffalo. He gave the meat away to elders who were unable to hunt for themselves.

Following the hunt, Jumping Badger set out on his first vision quest. When the lad was just 14, his father gave him a coup stick, a slender wand with which he could gain prestige by touching or striking an enemy in battle. He joined his first war party against the Crow, anxious for a chance to prove himself at that tender age.


Jumping Badger struck his first Crow warrior with his coup stick, thus earning a coveted measure of bravery in combat. His father was so filled with pride at his son’s early victory, that he gave the name Sitting Bull (Tatanka-Iyotanka) to his son as part of the ceremonies celebrating his elevation to warrior status. His new name suggested a stubborn buffalo bull planted unmovable on his haunches. The Indians thought of the buffalo as a headstrong, stubborn creature that was afraid of nothing, a creature that had great endurance, courage and strength. Those were fighting virtues that people saw in Sitting Bull.

To this day he is arguably the most revered of all Native American Chiefs in recorded history.

When gold was discovered on Sioux land, the U.S. government tabled a treaty with the tribe and allowed settlers to rush into Sioux territory. To make matters worse for the tribe, the government declared war on any Sioux who tried to prevent prospectors from taking over the land.

Chief Sitting Bull refused to abide by the conditions, vowing to protect his land as well as his people. During a Sun Dance Ceremony on the Little Bighorn River, it is said Sitting Bull danced for 36 hours straight and had a vision of his people defeating the American army. He shared the vision with his people.

Sitting Bull Quote: I am here by the will of the Great Spirit, and by his will I am chief.

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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88 Responses to Monday Open Thread | Native American Chiefs |Sitting Bull

  1. SouthernGirl2 says:
    September 12, 2013 at 1:45 pm

    Loss of the Black Hills

    Indian Land for Sale

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Ridge_Indian_Reservation

    In 1874 George Armstrong Custer led the U.S. Army Black Hills Expedition, which set out on July 2 from Fort Abraham Lincoln in the Dakota Territory, with orders to travel to the previously uncharted Black Hills of South Dakota. Its mission was to look for suitable locations for a fort, find a route to the southwest, and to investigate the potential for gold mining. His discovery of gold was made public and miners began migrating there illegally.

    “Custer’s florid descriptions of the mineral and timber resources of the Black Hills, and the land’s suitability for grazing and cultivation … received wide circulation, and had the effect of creating an intense popular demand for the ‘opening’ of the Hills for settlement.” Initially the U.S. military tried to turn away trespassing miners and settlers. Eventually President Grant, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of War, “decided that the military should make no further resistance to the occupation of the Black Hills by miners.” These orders were to be enforced “quietly”, and the President’s decision was to remain “confidential.”

    As more settlers and gold miners invaded the Black Hills, the Government determined it had to acquire the land from the Sioux, and appointed a commission to negotiate the purchase.[6] The negotiations failed, as the Sioux resisted giving up what they considered sacred land. The U.S. resorted to military force. They declared the Sioux Indians “hostile” for failing to obey an order to return from an off-reservation hunting expedition by a specific date, but in the dead of winter, overland travel was impossible.

    The consequent military expedition to remove the Sioux from the Black Hills included an attack on a major encampment of several bands on the Little Bighorn River. Led by General Custer, the attack ended in the overwhelming victory of chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse over the 7th Cavalry Regiment, a conflict often called Custer’s Last Stand.

    In 1876 the U.S. Congress decided to open up the Black Hills to development and break up the Great Sioux Reservation. In 1877, it passed an act to make 7.7 million acres (31,000 km2) of the Black Hills available for sale to homesteaders and private interests. In 1889 Congress divided the remaining area of Great Sioux Reservation into five separate reservations and defined the boundaries of each in its Act of March 2, 1889, 25 Stat. 888.

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  2. SouthernGirl2 says:
    September 8, 2013 at 2:01 pm

    Indigenous Peoples Issues and Resources

    https://www.facebook.com/indigenouspeoplesissues

    On This Day: In 1883 Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man Sitting Bull gave a speech in Bismarck, North Dakota on the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Sitting Bull told the Whites and dignitaries that they were liars and thieves for stealing the land and not abiding by the treaties. The interpreter, instead of relaying Sitting Bull’s words, changed the speech. All the while, as he delivered his speech, Sitting Bull looked directly at the Secretary of State, Ulysses S. Grant, as well as the governors and the bankers. On that day, with his speech, Sitting Bull made the White men into fools. As a result, Sitting Bull received a standing ovation and was encouraged to give more speeches.

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  3. SouthernGirl2 says:
    September 7, 2013 at 12:09 am

    Sitting Bull’s Great Grandson Tells Oral History

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  4. CarolMaeWY says:
    September 3, 2013 at 1:14 am

    This song is so beautiful, just had to post.
    http://youtu.be/icHujjDX51c

    Reply
  5. CarolMaeWY says:
    September 3, 2013 at 1:00 am

    Native American Ceremonies in June at Devils Tower
    June
    Devils Tower is an 867-foot-tall rock formation located in northeast Wyoming. For centuries, it has been the sacred site of Native American religious and cultural ceremonies. These include vision quests, sweat-lodge rites, prayer offerings, pipe ceremonies and the group ritual known as the Sun Dance. The Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, Eastern Shoshone, Crow and Kiowa are among more than 20 Native American tribes that honor Devils Tower as a holy place and a vital cultural resource. In more recent times, Devils Tower also has become a popular site for tourists and for rock climbers.
    June is an especially active and significant month for Native American ceremonies at Devils Tower because of the occurrence of the summer solstice. On June 21, various tribes hold private and sacred services at the tower’s base. As a result, in 1995 the U.S. National Park Service, which maintains the tower as a national monument, asked climbers to refrain voluntarily from visiting during June in order not to disrupt religious ceremonies. In 1996, the Park Service also banned guided tours during June. Though these moves were controversial, with at least one law suit filed in response, many climbers respect the voluntary ban. Park officials have noted a decrease of up to 85 percent of normal climbing activity in June.
    CONTACTS:
    Devils Tower National Monument
    P.O. Box 10
    Devils Tower, WY 82714
    307-467-5283; fax: 307-467-5350
    http://www.nps.gov/archive/deto/home.htm
    Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, Fourth Edition. © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc.

    Reply
  6. CarolMaeWY says:
    September 3, 2013 at 12:43 am

    Thought this was interesting too. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. When I was in high school they were always competitive in the “State B” basketball team. My parents took me and my brother when we were young to high school basketball games. When we got older it was our high school games we went too. Don’t think I missed any. Later when we moved to Wyoming the local high school played them before they started playing conferance games. They were well coached and very good sportsman. It might have been a religious high school, but I’m not sure. The coach wore a priests clothing. He had very long black hair. If it was it was Jesuit. The Badlands were not liked by the tribes. On the page I’m posting a link too calls them Oglala Lakota. They were becoming extinct until drastic help was given. It was from alcohol poising to babies by mothers. Thank God they are oing better. My niece has one child that was fathered by a man on the reservation. She’s not doing so well for herself. It sad. Her Dad was afraid they would take her kids from her. I think she has three children by three different fathers. The whites can be trashy too. Anyway here’s the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Ridge_Indian_Reservation

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  7. CarolMaeWY says:
    September 3, 2013 at 12:16 am

    I found a post on the Battle, or Custer last Stand. If you go to this battlefield you can see just how the battle played out. It’s eery. There are markers where every soldier died. Also a History building that told how it happened and the life of the soldiers. Also about the Natives too.
    http://www.nps.gov/libi/historyculture/sitting-bull.htm

    Reply
  8. SouthernGirl2 says:
    September 2, 2013 at 8:41 pm

    Yahtc

    Thank you for all the information on Sitting Bull and Native American History. We appreciate all your hard work in researching and sharing with us.

    Reply
  9. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 8:00 pm

    “Henrietta Lacks’ Genes and All of Yours?”
    by Robert Klitzman, MD
    Posted: 09/02/2013 6:20 pm

    excerpt:

    I don’t know what information I want,” a woman whose whole genome was being mapped recently told me. Her son was born with a severe disease, and she agreed to have her genes examined to help find the cause. Scientists were about to sequence the 3 billion molecules that encode the information in her DNA, her unique genetic “fingerprint,” the “blueprint” for making her a biologically unique person.
    These scientists could then also tell her lots of other information about her and her family — whether she had mutations associated with breast cancer, colon cancer, Alzheimer’s, autism, and other diseases.
    “I never really thought about it,” she said. “I don’t really know what it all means. I guess: Tell me everything.”
    Only after she heard about the complexities involved — that it may be upsetting and prevent her from getting life or disability insurance — did she realize that that may not be a good idea. But she was left unsure what information, if any, she would nonetheless want.
    This past spring, scientists posted online the complete genome of cells derived from Henrietta Lacks, revealing information about her — and her descendants. The researchers withdrew the information when the family, understandably, balked.
    Last month, scientists sequenced other cells from her, and the NIH announced that only researchers who applied for permission would have access to the information. In addition, her descendants would have a say in which studies would be done. These events mark major achievements, but also underscore needs to confront several troubling questions that will soon face us all.
    A tsunami of genomic info is about to hit us, and we are utterly unprepared. Ten years ago, the cost of sequencing a person’s whole genome was $1 billion. But the cost has since dropped to around $3,000, and in a few years will be about $1,000 or less. Soon, many of our complete genomes will be sequenced.
    What happened to Ms. Lacks, a poor African-American woman, in the early 1950s, was unfortunate and unfair. Scientists were able to grow her cells in a lab and used them for thousands of experiments. She and her family were never told that her cells were being used for research.
    Millions of us also have “left over tissue” stored in hospitals and biobanks, and researchers routinely study it without telling us. Luckily, our names are generally not associated with it — unlike in the case of Ms. Lacks, whose name was used to dub the specimens “HeLa” cells.
    Increasingly, though, scientists will map our genomes in both our left over samples and ongoing research and clinical care.
    Clearly, going forward, we should be told that research may be conducted on our samples, without our names attached, and given a choice. Yet these questions are currently arising in clinical settings, too. Physicians are now mapping the whole genomes of countless patients with cancer and other conditions, and will surely do so more widely in upcoming years.
    Questions emerge of what tests scientists and doctors should conduct, and tell us about, and who should decide. Should they search for everything they can find, and give us the results?
    These are the questions the woman above debated.
    Arguably, researchers and physicians should tell us when they find mutations for severe diseases for which treatments exist, but what about if they find mutations that somewhat predispose, but do not completely predict disease, when no treatment has yet been discovered? Some people may want to know — if, for instance, they have mutations linked with Alzheimer’s or are carriers for genes that increase risks of autism — but others probably won’t.
    Recently, the American College of Medical Genetics recommended that for all patients who undergo this testing, labs should test for 56 genes and give patients the results. Hence, for an infant tested for a disease she has, the parents will be told whether she also has genes associated with breast cancer and other diseases that won’t affect her until she is an adult, if ever. The parents may become over-protective, the child overly afraid as she grows.
    Moreover, the information could prompt discrimination. The Genetic Nondiscrimination Act charges health insurance companies fines if they discriminate. But the law does not cover life, disability or long-term care insurance companies, who increasingly ask to see the results of any genetic tests conducted on us or our family. At workplaces and elsewhere, subtle discrimination persists.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-klitzman-md/gene-sequencing_b_3845410.html

    Reply
    • CarolMaeWY says:
      September 3, 2013 at 12:23 am

      I bought the ebook when 3Chicas post about her. I mentioned to my doctor because they all seen to ask what have you been doing, so I told her. She only knew in general about the story and didn’t realize they weren’t using her real name. She took down the name of book, etc. and was anxious to read it.
      Today’s blog is packed with info. Thanks so much everyone.

      Reply
  10. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 6:46 pm

    C-Span “1989 – American Indian Activist Russell Means testifies at Senate”

    Reply
    • Yahtc says:
      September 2, 2013 at 7:29 pm

      Among other things

      At timestamp 16:10 Russel Means wanted

      “to hold fully liable those responsible for any and all damages which have resulted from the resource development on or near reservation lands including damages done by careless and inexcusable disposal of uranium mill tailings and other mineral and toxic wastes.”

      One can only wonder what is happening in South Dakota today with the oil and uranium exploration that is going on there.

      Reply
  11. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 5:07 pm

    uploaded by JohnFitzamH2020

    Reply
    • Yahtc says:
      September 2, 2013 at 5:09 pm

      Wounded Knee Massacre

      The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred on the banks of Wounded Knee Creek about twenty five miles west of current day town of Martin, South Dakota on December 29, 1890.

      The events leading up to the Wounded Knee Massacre need to only be prefaced that tension was running high due to the MURDER of SITTING BULL on December 15, 1890 which caused some of the Miniconjou Sioux Indians and Hunkpapa Sioux Indians to leave the reservations and head toward the Badlands.

      http://www.linecamp.com/museums/americanwest/western_places/wounded_knee_massacre/wounded_knee_massacre.html

      Reply
    • Yahtc says:
      September 2, 2013 at 5:15 pm

      Here is the WHITE Indian Agent’s account of Sitting Bull’s death.

      An Account of Sitting Bull’s Death
      by James McLaughlin
      Indian Agent at Standing Rock Reservation
      (1891)

      OFFICE OF INDIAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION, .
      1305 ARCH STREET,
      PHILADELPHIA
      Jan. 19th, 1891.

      The following graphic and,reliable account of the death of Sitting Bull and of the circumstances attending it will be read with interest by many readers. It was written by Major James McLaughlin, who for many years has occupied the post of Indian Agent at Standing Rock, Dakota, and was sent to us by my request. Agent McLaughlin is a good example of what an Indian Agent should be&emdash;experienced, faithful and courageous. The report which he has so kindly sent us is worthy of especial attention at this time. It proves that while there are bad Indians there are also good ones. The unostentatious courage and fidelity of the Indian police, who did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives in the service of a Government not of their own race, is worthy of remembrance.

      HERBERT WELSH, Cor. Sec’y I. R. A.

      UNITED STATES INDIAN SERVICE,
      STANDING ROCK AGENCY, NORTH DAKOTA,
      Jan. 12th, 1891.

      My Dear Mr. Welsh.
      Your letter of the 16th ultimo was duly received, and should have been answered earlier, but I have not had a moment to spare since its receipt.

      The newspaper reports regarding the arrest and death of Sitting Bull have nearly all been ridiculously absurd, and the following is a statement of the facts:&emdash;

      I was advised by a telegram from the Indian Office, dated Nov. 14th, I890, that the President had directed the Secretary of War to assume a military responsibility for the suppression of any threatened outbreak among the Sioux Indians, and on December 1st, 1890, another telegram instructed me that as to all operations intended to suppress any outbreak by force, to “co-operate with and obey the orders of the military officers commanding on the reservation.” This order made me subject to the military authorities, and to whom I regularly reported the nature of the ” Messiah Craze ” and the temper of the Indians of the reservation.

      As stated in my letter to you, dated November 25th last, the Messiah doctrine had taken a firm hold upon Sitting Bull and his followers, and that faction strove in every way to engraft it in the other settlements; but by close watching and activity of the police we prevented it from getting a start in any of the settlements outside of the upper Grand River, which districts were largely composed of Sitting Bull’s old followers, over whom he always exerted a baneful influence, and in this craze they fell easy victims to his subtlety, and believed blindly in the absurdities he preached of the Indian millennium. He promised them the return of their dead ancestors and restoration of their old Indian life, together with the removal of the white race; that the white man’s gunpowder could not throw a bullet with suflicient force in future to injure true believers; and even if Indians should be killed while obeying this call of the Messiah, they would only be the sooner united with their dead relatives, who were now all upon the earth (having returned from the clouds), as the living and dead would be reunited in the flesh next spring. You will readily understand what a dangerous doctrine this was to get hold of a superstitious and semi-civilized people, and how the more cunning “medicine men” could impose upon the credulity of the average uncivilized Indian.

      This was the status of the Messiah craze here on November 16th, when I made a trip to Sitting Bull’s camp, which is forty miles south-west of Agency, to try and get Sitting Bull to see the evils that a continuation of the Ghost dance would lead to, and the misery that it would bring to his people. I remained over night in the settlement and visited him early next morning before they commenced the dance, and had a long and apparently satisfactory talk with him, and made some impression upon a number of his followers who were listeners, but I failed in getting him to come into the Agency, where I hoped to convince him by long argument. Through chiefs Gall, Flying-By and Gray Eagle, I succeeded in getting a few to quit the dance, but the more we got to leave it the more aggressive Sitting Bull became so that the peaceable and well-disposed Indians were obliged to leave the settlement and could not pass through it without being subjected to insult and threats.The “Ghost Dancers” had given up industrial pursuits and abandoned their houses, and all moved into camp in the immediate neighborhood of Sitting Bull’s house, where they consumed their whole time in the dance and the purification vapor baths preparing for same, except on every second Saturday, when they came to the Agency for their bi-weekly rations.

      Sitting Bull did not come into the Agency for rations after October 25th, but sent members of his family, and kept a bodyguard when he remained behind while the greater portion of his people were away from the camp; this he did to guard against surprise in case an attempt to arrest him was made. He frequently boasted to Indians, who reported the same to me, that he was not afraid to die and wanted to fight, but I considered that mere idle talk and always believed that when the time for his arrest came and the police appeared in force in his camp, with men at their head whom he knew to be determined, that he would quietly accept the arrest and accompany them to the Agency, but the result of the arrest proved the contrary. Since the Sioux Commission of 1889 (the Foster, Crook and Warner Commission) Sitting Bull has behaved very badly, growing more aggressive steadily, and the Messiah doctrine, which united so many Indians in common cause, was just what he needed to assert himself as “high priest,” and thus regain prestige and former popularity among the Sioux by posing as the leader of disaffection.

      He being in open rebellion against constituted authority, was defying the Government, and encouraging disaffection, made it necessary that he be arrested and removed from the reservation, and arrangements were perfected for his arrest on December 6th, and everything seemed favorable for its accomplishment without trouble or bloodshed at that time; but the question arose as to whether I had authority to make the arrest or not, being subject to the military, to settle which I telegraphed to the Commissioner of Indian Aflairs on December 4th, and on the 5th received a reply which directed me to make no arrests whatever, except under orders of the military, or upon an order from the Secretary of the Interior. My reason for desiring to make the arrest on December 6th, was that it could be done then with the greater assurance of success and without alarming the Indians to any great extent, as the major portion of them would have been in for rations at the Agency, forty miles distant from where the arrest would have been made, and I also foresaw, from the movements of the military, that the order for his arrest would soon be issued, and that another ration day (two weeks more) would have to elapse before it could be so easily accomplished.

      On December 12th the following telegram was received by the Post Commander of Fort Yates, who furnished me with a copy:&emdash;

      Headquarters, Department of Dakota St. Paul, Minn. December 12th, 1890 To Commanding Officer, Fort Yates, North Dakota:– The Division commander has directed that you make it your especial duty to secure the person of Sitting Bull. Call on Indian Agent to cooperate and render such assistance as will best promote the purpose in view. Acknowledge receipt, and if not perfectly clear, report back. By command of General Ruger. (Signed) M. BARBER, Assistant Adjutant General”

      Upon receipt of the foregoing telegram the Post Commander sent for me, and held a consultation as to the best means to effect the desired arrest. It was contrary to my judgment to attempt the arrest at any time other than upon one of the bi-weekly ration days when there would be but a few Indians in Sitting Bull’s neighborhood, thus lessening the chances of opposition or excitement of his followers. The Post Commander saw the wisdom of my reasoning, and consented to defer the arrest until Saturday morning, December 20th, with the distinct understanding, however, that the Indian police keep Sitting Bull and his followers under strict surveillance to prevent their leaving the reservation, and report promptly any suspicious movements among them.

      Everything was arranged for the arrest to be made on December 20th; but on December 14th, at 4 P.M., a policeman arrived at the Agency from Grand River, who brought me a letter from Lieutenant of Police Henry Bull Head, the officer in charge of the force on Grand River, stating that Sitting Bull was making preparations to leave the reservation; that he had fitted his horses for a long and hard ride, and that if he got the start of them, he being well mounted, the police would be unable to overtake him, and he, therefore, wanted permission to make the arrest at once. I had just finished reading Lieut. Bull Head’s letter, and commenced questioning the courier who brought it, when Col. Drum, the Post Commander, came into my office to ascertain if I had received any news from Grand River. I handed him the letter which I had just received, and after reading it, he said that the arrest could not be deferred longer, but must be made without further delay; and immediate action was then decided upon, the plan being for the police to make the arrest at break of day the following morning, and two troops of the 8th Cavalry to leave the post at midnight, with orders to proceed on the road to Grand River until they met the police with their prisoner, whom they were to escort back to the post; they would thus be within supporting distance of the police, if necessary, and prevent any attempted rescue of Sitting Bull by his followers. I desired to have the police make the arrest, fully believing that they could do so without bloodshed, while, in the crazed condition of the Ghost Dancers, the military could not; furthermore, the police accomplishing the arrest would have a salutary effect upon all the Indians, and allay much of the then existing uneasiness among the whites. I, therefore, sent a courier to Lieut. Bull Head, advising him of the disposition to be made of the cavalry command which was to cooperate with him, and directed him to make the arrest at daylight the following morning.

      Acting under these orders, a force of thirty-nine policemen and four volunteers (one of whom was Sitting Bull’s brother-in-law, “Gray Eagle”) entered the camp at daybreak on December 16th, proceeding direct to Sitting Bull’s house, which ten of them entered, and Lieut. Bull Head announced to him the object of their mission. Sitting Bull accepted his arrest quietly at first, and commenced dressing for the journey to the Agency, during which ceremony (which consumed considerable time) his son, “Crow Foot,” who was in the house, commenced berating his father for accepting the arrest and consenting to go with the police; whereupon he (Sitting Bull) got stubborn and refused to accompany them.

      By this time he was fully dressed, and the policemen took him out of the house; but, upon getting outside, they found themselves completely surrounded by Sitting Bull’s followers, all armed and excited. The policemen reasoned with the crowd, gradually forcing them back, thus increasing the open circle considerably; but Sitting Bull kept calling upon his followers to rescue him from the police; that if the two principal men, “Bull Head” and “Shave Head,” were killed the others would run away, and he finally called out for them to commence the attack, whereupon “Catch the Bear” and “Strike the Kettle,” two of Sitting Bull’s men, dashed through the crowd and fired. Lieut. “Bull Head” was standing on one side of Sitting Bull and 1st Sergt. “Shave Head” on the other, with 2d Sergt. “Red Tomahawk” behind, to prevent his escaping; “Catch the Bear’s ” shot struck Bull Head in the right side, and he instantly wheeled and shot Sitting Bull, hitting him in the left side, between the tenth and eleventh ribs, and “Strike the Kettle’s” shot having passed through Shave Head’s abdomen, all three fell together. “Catch the Bear,” who fired the first shot, was immediately shot down by private of police “Lone Man,” and the fight then became general&emdash;in fact, a hand-to-hand conflict &emdash;forty-three policemen and volunteers against about one hundred and fifiy crazed Ghost Dancers.

      The fight lasted about half an hour, but all the casualties, except that of Special Policeman John Armstrong, occurred in the first few minutes. The police soon drove the Indians from around the adjacent buildings, and then charged and drove them into the adjoining woods, about forty rods distant, and it was in this charge that John Armstrong was killed by an Indian secreted in a clump of brush. During the fight women attacked the police with knives and clubs, but in every instance they simply disarmed them and placed them under guard in the houses near by until the troops arrived, after which they were given their freedom. Had the women and children been brought into the Agency there would have been no stampede of the Grand River people; but the men, realizing the enormity of the offence they had committed by attacking the police, as soon as their families joined them, fled up Grand River, and then turned south to the Morian and Cheyenne Rivers.

      The conduct of the Indian police upon that occasion cannot be too highly commended. The following is an extract of the official report of E. G. Fechet, Captain 8th Cavalry, who commanded the detachment of troops sent to Grand River:–

      “I cannot too strongly commend the splendid courage and ability which characterised the conduct of the Indian police commanded by Bull Head and Shave Head throughout the encounter. The attempt to arrest Sitting Bull was so managed as to place the responsibility for the fight that ensued upon Sitting Bull’s band, which began the firing. Red Tomahawk assumed command of the police after both Bull Head and Shave Head had been wounded, and it was he who, under circumstances requiring personal courage to the highest degree, assisted Hawk Man to escape with a message to the troops. After the fight, no demoralization seemed to exist among them, and they were ready and willing to cooperate with the troops to any extent desired.”

      The following is a list of the killed and wounded casualties of the fight:&emdash;

      Henry Bull Head, First Lieutenant of Police, died 82 hour after the fight.
      Charles Shave Head, First Sergeant of Police, died 25 hours after the fight.
      James Little Eagle, Fourth Sergeant of Police, killed in the fight.
      Paul Afraid-of-Soldiers, Private of Police, killed in the fight.
      John Armstrong, Special Police, killed in the fight.
      David Hawkman, Special Police, killed in the fight.
      Alexander Middle, Private of Police, wounded, recovering.
      Sitting Bull, killed, 56 years of age.
      Crow Foot (Sitting Bull’s son), killed, 17 years of age.
      Black Bird, killed, 43 years of age.
      Catch the Bear, killed, 44 years of age.
      Spotted Horn Bull, killed, 56 years of age.
      Brave Thunder, No. 1, killed, 46 years of age.
      Little Assiniboine, killed, 44 years of age.
      Chase Wounded, killed, 24 years of age.
      Bull Ghost, wounded, entirely recovered.
      Brave Thunder, No. 2, wounded, recovering rapidly.
      Strike the Kettle, wounded, now at Fort Sully, a prisoner.

      This conflict, which cost so many lives, is much to be regretted, yet the good resulting therefrom can scarcely be overestimated, as it has effectually eradicated all seeds of disaffection sown by the Messiah Craze among the Indians of this Agency, and has also demonstrated to the people of the country the fidelity and loyalty of the Indian police in maintaining law and order on the reservation . Everything is now quiet at this Agency, and good feeling prevails among the Indians, newspaper reports to the contrary notwithstanding. No Indians have left this Agency since the stampede of December 15th, following the conflict with the police, and no others will. There were three hundred and seventy-two men, women and children left at that time, of whom about one hundred and twenty are males over sixteen years of age, and of whom two hundred and twenty-seven are now prisoners at Fort Sully, and seventy-two are reported to have been captured at Pine Ridge Agency some time ago.

      With kind regards, I have the honor to be,
      very respectfully, your obedient servant,
      James McLaughlin, Indian Agent

      Mr. Herbert Welsh Philadelphia, Pa.

      [TEXT: James McLaughlin, Account of the Death of Sitting Bull and of the Circumstances Attending It (Philadelphia, 1891)]

      Reply
      • Yahtc says:
        September 2, 2013 at 5:21 pm

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI0Jfdkq4z8

        Uploaded on Jan 3, 2007 by Ahwahneechee

        The Ghost Dance appeared during a time of desperation for the Native American Indian people. The Ghost Dance started when Paiute shaman Jack Wilson or Wovoka had a vision that if our people would dance and sing we Indians would live again. The Ghost Dance spread throughout the land. In Dec. 1890 the military panicked and massacred innocent Lakota Indian people at Wound Knee while they danced. It is one of the worse incidents in United States history. Judy Trejo – Summit Lake (Tommo Agi) and Walker River (Agi) Paiute and Anita Collins – Shoshone and Walker River Paiute speak about Wovoka. The Round Dance was a traditional Great Basin dance that spread across the land in the form of the Ghost Dance, and is now part of many celebrations. Robbie Robertson sings “Ghost Dance”.

        Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    September 2, 2013 at 4:15 pm

    I am a non-interventionist by nature. But I am not the President of the United States, who isn’t also called The Leader of the Free World for nothing. Those against the President, who have been trying to find anything that they can to discredit him with since January 20, 2009 thought they finally had something. The GOP was going to sit on the sidelines, and if the President had taken unilateral action and it went poorly,they were going to try and use this as an excuse for which to impeach the President. The MSM would have gone along with it. The President IS the smartest person in the room. So now he hss told the Congress to do their job,requesting a vote. Hard to impeach the President, when you’ve taken an on the record vote for the same issue. I do not believe for one moment that the emos care two shyts about dead Syrians. They are only a means by which to insult the President.

    Reply
  13. vitaminlover says:
    September 2, 2013 at 2:41 pm

    Sitting Bull was quite an intense looking man!

    Reply
  14. Ametia says:
    September 2, 2013 at 1:32 pm

    BWA HA HA HA

    Reply
  16. SouthernGirl2 says:
    September 2, 2013 at 1:09 pm

    Texas High School Football: A&M Consolidated vs Copperas Cove. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj67yQNwu7s …

    Reply
  17. SouthernGirl2 says:
    September 2, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    Cherokee Nation baby & Dusten BrownCherokeePhoenix.org

    WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court on April 16 heard oral arguments in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, a case involving a Cherokee Nation citizen fighting for custody of his biological child by invoking the federal Indian Child Welfare Act.

    CN citizen Dusten Brown is fighting to keep his daughter Veronica and is utilizing the ICWA to ensure she remains at the family’s home in Oklahoma.

    In 2009, Brown’s former fiancé, a non-Native Hispanic woman, made arrangements for their daughter to be adopted without Brown’s consent. The adopting couple, Matt and Melanie Capobianco of South Carolina, is also non-Native.

    Brown, who served a year in Iraq in the U.S. Army, was prepared to sign custodial rights to the child’s biological mother, but not his parental rights. When he learned of the biological mother’s plan to give up the child, he immediately filed to stop the adoption. Citing ICWA guidelines, Veronica was reunited with her Cherokee family and biological father in Oklahoma.

    When Veronica was 2, the South Carolina Appellate Court ruled ICWA trumped South Carolina state law. According to a later South Carolina Supreme Court ruling, the Brown family has a “deeply embedded relationship” with its heritage.

    The ICWA was enacted in 1978 when Native American children were being removed from their homes and typically placed with non-Native adoptive or foster parents. It gives tribal sovereign governments and their citizens a voice in Native child protection and ensures children remain connected to their ancestry and traditions.

    The Obama administration, 18 states, multiple tribal nations, current and former members of Congress and children’s welfare groups all supported the Brown family and the ICWA with legal briefs.

    Continue reading here:

    Oral Arguments

    [wpvideo O5gn4g5R]

    Reply
  18. SouthernGirl2 says:
    September 2, 2013 at 12:10 pm

    Rally takes place outside state Capitol in the ‘Baby Veronica’ adoption case

    http://kfor.com/2013/08/19/rally-takes-place-outside-state-capitol-in-the-baby-veronica-adoption-case/

    Protesters rally at the state Capitol this morning in connection with the ‘Baby Veronica’ adoption case.

    The group is showing support for the child’s biological father, Dusten Brown, and is upset in a court’s decision to not allow the Indian Child welfare Act to play a role in this case.

    The adoptive parents, Matt and Melanie Capobianco are from South Carolina.

    Baby Veronica lived with them for 27 months before South Carolina courts gave biological father, Dusten Brown, custody.

    Soon after, the U.S Supreme Court ordered South Carolina to reconsider the case and state courts gave custody back to the adoptive parents, but Brown still has his biological daughter.

    All parties were in two courtrooms last Friday but a judge put a gag order on the case so the results of those proceedings has not been made public.

    Reply
    • SouthernGirl2 says:
      September 2, 2013 at 12:14 pm

      Give baby Veronica BACK to her biological father. We have an Indian Child welfare Act for a reason. America has caused enough suffering and pain upon Native Americans by going into their homes and removing their children. Stop It! Enough already!

      Reply
  19. Ametia says:
    September 2, 2013 at 11:59 am

    Trayvon Martin’s father leads FAMU football team onto Citrus Bowl field before opener

    Tracy Martin says it felt good to spend time with Rattlers before MEAC/SWAC Challenge

    Video: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-trayvon-martins-father-leads-famu-football-team-20130901,0,4118210.story

    Reply
  20. CarolMaeWY says:
    September 2, 2013 at 10:51 am

    South Dakota commits shocking genocide against Native Americans

    …..According to a recent report by the Indian Child Welfare Act directors in South Dakota, 740 Lakota children are removed to foster care each year and 90 percent are placed in white homes and institutions….without any notification to the child’s relatives….

    South Dakota receives $79,000 from the federal government per year per child for every Native youngster it removes, but provides only $9,000 to a white foster home. The remaining $70,000 is deposited in state coffers.
    American Indian youths have a suicide rate that is….six times higher for those living in non-Indian homes.
    – See more at: http://thepoliticalpragmatic.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-snowden-snowjob.html#sthash.iZFBaral.dpuf

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      September 2, 2013 at 11:21 am

      This has always been the goal of some whites, to seperate and destroy families Blacks during slavery and of Native Americans. Then paint them as the OTHER, when the Native Americans are thre ORIGINAL Americans. Thus the term “NATIVE.”

      Reply
      • CarolMaeWY says:
        September 2, 2013 at 11:33 am

        Yes and we would be so much further ahead as a prosperous society if we hadn’t done that.

        Reply
        • SouthernGirl2 says:
          September 2, 2013 at 11:39 am

          What was done to Native Americans were an atrocity. It all came from ignorance, hatred and greed.

          Reply
          • CarolMaeWY says:
            September 2, 2013 at 11:40 am

            It was heinous.

          • SouthernGirl2 says:
            September 2, 2013 at 11:42 am

            So cruel. And we can’t change it. It’s the most saddest thing ever.

          • CarolMaeWY says:
            September 2, 2013 at 11:48 am

            :'( We can only do things like we did at Devils Tower and give them respect now. Stop SD greed.

          • SouthernGirl2 says:
            September 2, 2013 at 11:54 am

            I have a photo of my daddy that I’ve carried in my wallet for 25 years. I wanted to keep it close to me at all times.The Native American blood comes from him. He has that look with very prominent features. He could do anything a VET could do to treat sick animals.. including surgery.

          • CarolMaeWY says:
            September 2, 2013 at 12:31 pm

            Really, I never knew that about you SG. Yes, the cut of their jaw is very prominent. Do you know any family history? I was working on ancestry.com. My daughter-in-law is part Cherokee and Chipiwaa. She doesn’t know any family background. When I was younger we went to Pipestone, MN. Every year they put on the play Hiawatha. It’s a beautiful story when you see it at sundown by a small river or creek. Replying on this app is kind of hard because I can’t leave and get links. But I can reply quicker. I’m so slow at ancestry, it’s pathetic. I have been emailing my cousin back and forth. I used to think I was as white as they come, but I had my DNA done at Ancestry.com. I’m a little Persian, Turkish and from the Caucasus. I guess being from the Caucasus makes me Caucasian. ;) I have one distant match, but haven’t caught up with her yet. My guess it is because of Lawrence of Arabia or the Vikings. Not much is said how many lands the Vikings invaded. They were brutal to everybody, including each other. They went at least as far as Armenia. So were the English. That is why I’m slow at research. I get caught up in the individual stories.

            I have an antidote on TOD. It is on “The President likes Food”. It’s about a National Corn picking Contest. I was little. Or skinny. I’m kind of tall now. If you’re a Democrat, you might enjoy it. I was born and raised on. Family Homestead near Sioux Falls, SD.

            Sorry if I’ve bored you with all this.

      • SouthernGirl2 says:
        September 2, 2013 at 12:43 pm

        I’m enjoying reading about your ancestry. I know very little about my great grandmother except for the stories passed down to me from my dad.

        Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      September 2, 2013 at 4:22 pm

      HOLD UP!!!

      They get SEVENTY-NINE THOUSAND TO STEAL A NATIVE CHILD?

      WHAT-THE-FUCK?

      Reply
  21. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 10:45 am

    Great website for camping and hiking with nice photos:

    http://www.outdoorafro.com

    Reply
  22. Ametia says:
    September 2, 2013 at 10:13 am

    The MSM meme for the week= PBO is weak on Syria. Covering for the GOP & DEMS who down’t want to go on record with their veiws on strike on Syria.

    Reply
  23. Ametia says:
    September 2, 2013 at 10:08 am

    The argument the non-interventionsts must make
    SmartyPants

    President Obama has made his argument for military intervention in Syria in response to their use of chemical weapons. And he has once again said that he welcomes the debate.

    It is now time for those who oppose this military intervention to make their case. I’ll tell you what won’t work: suggesting this is just like what Bush/Cheney did when they lied us into an invasion of Iraq. Rather than looking for an excuse to invade another country, we all know that President Obama has fought off advice to engage in Syria – even when it came from his closest national security advisors. This large-scale use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime is what finally changed his mind. But even more importantly, President Obama is not talking about invading Syria – he’s talking about an action that would be limited in scope and duration – with no boots on the ground. An argument against the President’s proposal has to take that into account.

    http://immasmartypants.blogspot.ie/2013/09/the-argument-non-interventionsts-must.html

    Reply
  24. Ametia says:
    September 2, 2013 at 10:05 am

    Good Morning, Everyone. SG2, I’m looking forward to this week’s look at Native American Chiefs.

    Sitting Bull: “I am here by the will of the Great Spirit, and by his will I am chief.”

    Love it, Sitting Bull knew who he and his people ARE. From the cloth of the one Great Spirit. He didn’t have it twisted.

    Reply
  25. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 10:01 am

    Who is surfing the waves this Labor Day? Here is a trailer to an African American documentary on Black Surfing:

    Black Surfer… (A Soul Surfer’s Quest)

    Reply
  26. rikyrah says:
    September 2, 2013 at 9:56 am

    Good Morning Everyone

    Reply
  27. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 9:55 am

    The State of the Black Worker: A Primer
    Although some news is good, African Americans still face vast inequalities in the workforce.

    By: Janell Ross | Posted: September 1, 2013 at 12:19 AM

    http://www.theroot.com/views/state-black-worker-primer

    Reply
  28. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 9:49 am

    Lakota Voices – Arlette Loud Hawk

    Reply
  29. CarolMaeWY says:
    September 2, 2013 at 9:27 am

    Good Morning. Thank you so much for the great article. Love the photos too. When we go to the Black Hills, I can feel their spirit and realize why it is their holy land. We think the Black Hills are so beautiful; Especially the drive through Spearfish Canyon. That is not far from where the large gold mine was.

    Reply
    • SouthernGirl2 says:
      September 2, 2013 at 11:01 am

      Morning, CarolMae!

      I’d love to visit the Black Hills. Maybe sometime in my life I might get there.

      Reply
      • Ametia says:
        September 2, 2013 at 11:13 am

        We take the 8 hour drive to the Black Hills at least once a year. The Bad Lands are a sight to see and feel too.

        And if you do travel to South Dakota, just once, everyone should visit Mount Rushmore! I can already see PBO’s head up there. LOL

        When I drove to New Mexico in the early 90s, I could see and feel the Spirit of the region. Most of America’s landscape where the Native Americans lived and thrived before being overtaken by whites still carry the spirit.

        YOU CAN NEVER KILL SPIRIT.

        Reply
      • CarolMaeWY says:
        September 2, 2013 at 11:31 am

        Sure hope you have the chance. It’s not as majestic as the Rockies. Parts of it are in WY, probably a little known fact. It’s about a ninety mile drive for us to go through Spearfish Canyon. We like to go about Oct. 2 because of the changing colors of Aspen and Sumac. Devils Tower is in WY. In June it is closed to climbers. I’m not sure how much else is closed to the public in June. I’d have to google that. That is because the Native Americans have worked for that right. It is a Holy place for them. It’s another beautiful drive and walk around the Tower.

        Reply
  30. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 8:28 am

    “Old Man and the River: Senator’s Fight for Montana Waterway”

    Douglas H. Chadwick in Montana

    Published September 1, 2013

    The North Fork of the Flathead River in northwestern Montana, the heart of Senator Max Baucus’ decades long effort to safeguard the area from mining companies.

    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130901-north-fork-montana-flathead-baucus-river-wilderness-mining-glacier-park/

    Reply
  31. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 8:19 am

    Climate change ‘driving spread of crop pests’

    By Rebecca Morelle – 1 September 2013
    Science reporter, BBC World Service

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23899019

    Reply
  32. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 7:16 am

    The Treaty of Fort Laramie 1868

    (from Wikipedia)

    The Treaty of Fort Laramie (also called the Sioux Treaty of 1868) was an agreement between the United States and the Oglala, Miniconjou, and Brulé bands of Lakota people, Yanktonai Dakota, and Arapaho Nation[1] signed in 1868 at Fort Laramie in the Wyoming Territory, guaranteeing to the Lakota ownership of the Black Hills, and further land and hunting rights in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. The Powder River Country was to be henceforth closed to all whites. The treaty ended Red Cloud’s War.
    In the treaty, as part of the U.S. vendetta to “divide and conquer”, the U.S. included all Ponca lands in the Great Sioux Reservation. Conflict between the Ponca and the Sioux/Lakota, who now claimed the land as their own by U.S. law, forced the U.S. to remove the Ponca from their own ancestral lands in Nebraska to poor land in Oklahoma.
    The treaty includes an article intended to “ensure the civilization” of the Lakota, financial incentives for them to farm land and become competitive, and stipulations that minors should be provided with an “English education” at a “mission building.” To this end the U.S. government included in the treaty that white teachers, blacksmiths, a farmer, a miller, a carpenter, an engineer and a government agent should take up residence within the reservation.
    Repeated violations of the otherwise exclusive rights to the land by gold prospectors led to the Black Hills War. Migrant workers seeking gold had crossed the reservation borders, in violation of the treaty. Indians had assaulted these gold prospectors, in violation of the treaty, and war ensued. The U.S. government seized the Black Hills land in 1877.
    More than a century later, the Sioux nation won a victory in court. On June 30, 1980, in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians,[2] the United States Supreme Court upheld an award of $15.5 million for the market value of the land in 1877, along with 103 years worth of interest at 5 percent, for an additional $105 million. The Lakota Sioux, however, refused to accept payment and instead demanded the return of their territory from the United States.
    In more recent proceedings the U.S. Courts have seen that the some of the monies associated with the claim have been expended and, as such, claim that the agreement is valid. In fact, several thousand tribal members have filed for and are awaiting for a final decision by the Court to decide to issue the resources to tribal members.[citation needed]
    The treaty and its aftermath is the subject of a 1986 video by the Native American Public Broadcasting Consortium.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fort_Laramie_(1868)

    Reply
  33. Yahtc says:
    September 2, 2013 at 7:11 am

    Good Morning Everyone!

    SG2,

    Thank you so much for your wonderful article informing us about the life of Sitting Bull! Great job!

    Reply

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