The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Sitting Bull

Publish date: 2024-05-02

It was March of 1876, amidst the Great Sioux War when Sitting Bull called the Lakota, the Cheyenne, and the Arapaho together. At his camp in Rose Bud Creek, he led the tribes in a Sun Dance ritual. The ritual entailed that he slash himself a hundred times in sacrifice to the Great Spirit, according to PBS: New Perspectives on the West. A vision came to Sitting Bull during this ritual. Soldiers fell from the sky like grasshoppers.

The omen set Crazy Horse, the Ogala war chief, into action. He led his warriors to the Battle of the Rosebud and surprised the U.S. soldiers, leading to a concise victory. To celebrate, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull moved the Lakota camp to Little Bighorn where they were met by more than 3,000 additional Sioux and Cheyenne.

According to History, the camp along the Little Bighorn river had more than 10,000 people when Lieutenant Colonel George Custer and the 7th U.S. Cavalry attacked. The soldiers arrived only to be met by a much larger force rallied by Sitting Bull, who's old age kept him protecting the women and children away from the thick of the battle. Custer should have listened to his scouts when they reported the size of the Sioux force. Instead, his 215 troops got wiped out by 3,000 braves, with 400 additional troops barely managing to defend themselves. This was one of two battles lost by the U.S. Army, and they wouldn't take it lightly.

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