Native people information by name

[mdenney]

CRAZYHORSE TASHUNCA-UITCO
1849-1877


Celebrated for his ferocity in battle
Crazy Horse was recognized among his own people as a visionary leader
Committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life

Even as a young man Crazy Horse was a legendary warrior
He stole horses from the Crow Indians before he was thirteen
He led his first war party before turning twenty

Crazy Horse fought in the 1865-68 war led by the Oglala chief Red Cloud
He fought against American settlers in Wyoming
He played a key role in destroying William J. Fetterman's brigade
At Fort Phil Kearny in 1867

Crazy Horse earned his reputation among the Lakota by his skill and daring in battle
But also by his fierce determination to preserve his people's traditional way of life
He refused
For example to allow any photographs to be taken of him
He fought to prevent American encroachment on Lakota lands
This following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868
He helped to attack a surveying party
Sent into the Black Hills by General George Armstrong Custer in 1873

When the War Department ordered all Lakota bands onto their reservations in 1876
Crazy Horse became a leader of the resistance
Closely allied to the Cheyenne through his first marriage to a Cheyenne woman
He gathered a force of 1,200 Oglala and Cheyenne at his village
He turned back General George Crook on June 17--1876
This as Crook tried to advance up Rosebud Creek
Toward Sitting Bull's encampment on the Little Bighorn

After this victory Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull
On June 25 led his band in the counterattack that destroyed Custer's Seventh Cavalry
He flaned the Americans from the north and west
As Hunkpapa warriors led by chief Gall charged from the south and east
Following the Lakota victory at the Little Bighorn
Sitting Bull and Gall retreated to Canada
But Crazy Horse remained to battle General Nelson Miles
Miles pursued the Lakota and their allies relentlessly throughout the winter of 1876-77

This constant military harassment and the decline of the buffalo population
Eventually forced Crazy Horse to surrender on May 6--1877
Except for Gall and Sitting Bull
He was the last important chief to yield

Even in defeat
Crazy Horse remained an independent spirit
On September 1877 he left the reservation without authorization
He was taking his sick wife to her parents
General George Crook ordered him arrested
He feared that he was plotting a return to battle
Crazy Horse did not resist arrest at first
But when he realized that he was being led to a guardhouse
He began to struggle
While his arms were held by one of the arresting officers
A soldier ran him through with a bayonet

link below-

www.raskys.com/indian/indian2.html

[mdenney]

CHIEF JOSEPH HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKT
1840-1904


The man who became a national celebrity with the name "Chief Joseph"
Was born in the Wallowa Valley in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840
He was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
Or Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain
He was widely known as Joseph or Joseph the Younger
Because his father had taken the Christian name Joseph
When he was baptized at the Lapwai mission by Henry Spalding in 1838
Joseph the Elder was one of the first Nez Percé converts to Christianity
He was an active supporter of the tribe's longstanding peace with whites

In 1855
He even helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Percé reservation
That stretched from Oregon into Idaho

But in 1863 following a gold rush into Nez Percé territory
The federal government took back almost six million acres of this land
Restricting the Nez Percé to a reservation in Idaho
That was only one tenth its prior size
Feeling himself betrayed
Joseph the Elder denounced the United States
Destroyed his American flag
His Bible
And refused to move his band from the Wallowa Valley
He refused to sign the treaty that would make the new reservation boundaries official

When his father died in 1871
Joseph was elected to succeed him
He inherited not only a name
But a situation made increasingly volatile
As white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley
Joseph staunchly resisted all efforts to force his band onto the small Idaho reservation
In 1873 a federal order to remove white settlers
And let his people remain in the Wallowa Valley
Made it appear that he might be successful
But the federal government soon reversed itself
And in 1877 General Oliver Otis Howard threatened a cavalry attack
An attack to force Joseph's band and other hold outs onto the reservation
Believing military resistance futile
Joseph reluctantly led his people toward Idaho
Unfortunately
They never got there

About twenty young Nez Percé warriors
Enraged at the loss of their homeland
Staged a raid on nearby settlements and killed several whites
Immediately
The army began to pursue Joseph's band
And the others who had not moved onto the reservation
Although he had opposed war Joseph cast his lot with the war leaders

What followed was one of the most brilliant military retreats in American history
Even the unsympathetic General William Tecumseh Sherman
Could not help but be impressed with the 1,400 mile march

He stated that
"The Indians throughout displayed a courage
And skill that elicited universal praise
They fought with almost scientific skill
Using advance and rear guards
Skirmish lines
And field fortifications"
In over three months
The band of about 700, fewer than 200 of whom were warriors
Fought 2,000 U.S. soldiers
And Indian auxiliaries in four major battles and numerous skirmishes

By the time he formally surrendered on October 5--1877
Joseph was widely referred to in the American press as "the Red Napoleon"
It is unlikely however
That he played as critical a role in the Nez Percé's military feat as his legend suggests
He was never considered a war chief by his people
Even within the Wallowa band
It was Joseph's younger brother, Olikut, who led the warriors
While Joseph was responsible for guarding the camp

It appears in fact
That Joseph opposed the decision to flee into Montana
And seek aid from the Crows

Other chiefs
Looking Glass
And some who had been killed before the surrender
Were the true strategists of the campaign

Nevertheless
Joseph's widely reprinted surrender speech
Has immortalized him as a military leader in American popular culture

I Am Tired Of Fighting
Our Chiefs Are Killed
Looking Glass Is Dead
Toohoolhoolzote Is Dead
The Old Men Are All Dead
It Is The Young Men Who Say
"Yes" Or "No"
He Who Led The Young Men-Olikut-Is Dead
It Is Cold And We Have No Blankets
The Little Children Are Freezing To Death
My People
Some Of Them Have Run Away Into The hills
They Have No Blankets
No Food
No One Knows Where They Are
Perhaps Freezing To Death
I Want To Have Time To Look For My Children
And See How Many Of Them I Can Find
Maybe I Shall Find Them Among The Dead

Hear Me
My Chiefs!
I Am Tired
My Heart Is Sick And Sad
From Where The Sun Now Stands
I Will Fight No More
Forever

Joseph's fame did him little good
Although he had surrendered
With the understanding that he would be allowed to return home
Joseph and his people were instead taken first to eastern Kansas
Then to a reservation in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma
Where many of them died of epidemic diseases

Although he was allowed to visit Washington, D.C. in 1879
To plead his case to U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes
It was not until 1885
That Joseph and the other refugees were returned to the Pacific Northwest
Even then half
Including Joseph, were taken to a non-Nez Percé reservation in northern Washington
They were separated from the rest of their people in Idaho
They were separated from their homeland in the Wallowa Valley

In his last years
Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people
He held out the hope that America's promise of freedom
And equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well

An Indomitable Voice Of Conscience For The West He Died In 1904
He Was Still Exiled From His Homeland
He Died According To His Doctor "Of A Broken Heart"


link below-

www.raskys.com/indian/indian2.html

[mdenney]

CRAZY HORSE

(Tashunka Witco, Tashunca-Uitco, "his horse is crazy").

TRIBE: Oglala-Brule Sioux.

BIRTH-DEATH: (ca. 1842-1877).

Leader in the Sioux Wars of the 1860s-70s. Nephew of SPOTTED TAIL .

CRAZY HORSE


Crazy Horse was born along Rapid Creek near present-day Rapid City, South Dakota, to the east of Paha Sapa, the Black Hills.

He was the son of an Oglala medicine man of the same name and his Brule wife, the sister of Spotted Tail.

His mother died when he was young, and his father took her sister as a wife and she helped raise Crazy Horse.

He spent time in both Oglala and Brule camps. His childhood name was Curly.

Before he was 12, Curly had killed a buffalo and received his own horse.

About that age, on August 19, 1854, he was in CONQUERING BEAR’s camp in northern Wyoming when the Brule leader was killed in the GRATTAN Fight.

Although he was away from camp during the Battle of Ash Hollow the following year, he witnessed the destruction of Sioux tepees and possessions by the soldiers during General WILLIAM S. HARNEY’s punitive expedition through Sioux territory along the Oregon Trail, experiences that helped shape his militant attitude toward whites.

After the Grattan Fight, Curly underwent a Vision Quest in which he had a vivid dream of a rider in a storm on horseback,

with long unbraided hair, a small stone in his ear,

zigzag lightning decorating his cheek, and hail dotting his body.

Although a warrior, he bore no scalps.

People clutched at the rider, but could not hold him.

The storm faded and a red-backed hawk flew over the rider’s head. When Curly later related the dream to his father, the medicine man interpreted it as a sign of his son’s future greatness in battle.

At about the age of 16, now bearing his father’s name, Crazy Horse rode for the first time as an adult warrior in a raid on Crows.

Like the rider in his dream, he wore his hair free, a stone earring, and a headdress with a red hawk feather in it.

His face was painted with a lightning bolt and his body with hail-like dots.

The raid was successful, but Crazy Horse received a wound in the leg, because, his father interpreted, unlike the rider in the vision, he had taken two scalps.

For the remainder of his career as a warrior, it is said that Crazy Horse never again took a scalp.

Crazy Horse became further known to many of the Sioux bands for his courage in the War for the BOZEMAN Trail of 1866-68 under the Oglala RED CLOUD , when the army began building a road in Powder River country from the Oregon Trail to the goldfields of Montana.

He was one of the young chiefs, along with the Miniconjou HUMP and the Hunkpapas GALL and RAIN-IN-THE-FACE , who used decoy tactics against the soldiers.

Near Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming, Crazy Horse participated in the Indian victories known as the FETTERMAN Fight of December 21, 1866, and the Wagon Box Fight of August 2, 1867.

With the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, in which the army agreed to abandon the posts along the Bozeman Trail, Red Cloud and Spotted Tail settled on reservation lands.

Crazy Horse became war chief of the Oglalas, with some Brule followers as well.

Moreover, he made friends and followers among the Northern Cheyennes through his first marriage to a Cheyenne woman. He later married an Oglala woman too.

Crazy Horse again waged war in the early 1870s, leading his warriors in raids on Northern Pacific Railway surveyors.

The Black Hills Gold Rush, which brought more whites to the region, increased tensions.

When the nomadic hunting bands ignored the order to report to their reservations by January 31, 1876, the military organized a campaign against them.

Crazy Horse’s band fought in the opening engagement of the War for the Black Hills of 1876-77, the Battle of Powder River.

In March 1876, when his scouts discovered an Indian trail, General GEORGE CROOK sent a detachment under Colonel Joseph Reynolds to locate the Indian camp along the Powder in southeastern Montana.

At dawn on March 17, Reynolds ordered a charge.

The Indians retreated to surrounding bluffs and fired at the troops who burned the village and rounded up the Indian horses.

Crazy Horse regrouped his warriors and, during a snowstorm that night, recaptured the herd.

Meanwhile, SITTING BULL of the Hunkpapas, who, during the 1860s, had been active in raids in northern Montana and North Dakota along the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, came into prominence as the spiritual leader of the allied Northern Plains tribes.

Gall acted as his leading war chief. Crazy Horse joined the Hunkpapas on the upper Rosebud.

On June 17, 1876, at the Battle of the Rosebud, Crazy Horse, Gall, and other war chiefs led their warriors in repeated assaults that forced Crook’s troops to retreat.

The Indians then moved their camp to the Bighorn River. On June 25, at the Battle of Little Bighorn, Crazy Horse led the victorious assault on GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER’s men from the north and west, while Gall’s warriors attacked from the south and west.

Following Little Bighorn, the Indian bands split up, and Crazy Horse led his people back to the Rosebud.

The next autumn and winter, Colonel NELSON A. MILES led the 5th Infantry from a base at the confluence of the Tongue and Yellowstone rivers in a relentless pursuit of the militants, wearing them down and making it difficult for them to obtain food.

When the Indians attempted hit-and-run strikes, the soldiers responded with heavy artillery to repel them.

On January 8, 1877, at Wolf Mountain on the Tongue River in southern Montana, Crazy Horse led 800 braves in a surprise attack.

Miles had disguised his howitzers as wagons and opened fire with them. The Indians withdrew to bluffs and, when the soldiers counterattacked, retreated under the cover of a snowstorm.

More and more of the fugitive bands were surrendering.

Crazy Horse received a promise from Crook through Red Cloud that if he surrendered, his people would have a reservation of their own in the Powder River country.

His people weary and starving, Crazy Horse led some 800 followers to Fort Robinson on the Red Cloud Agency in northwestern Nebraska on May 5, 1877.

But the promise of a reservation fell through.

Crazy Horse remained at the Red Cloud Agency, and his presence caused unrest among the Indians and suspicion among the whites.

Older chiefs resented the adulation he received from young braves.

He remained aloof from whites and refused Crook’s request to send him to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with President Rutherford Hayes.

Crazy Horse’s wife became sick.

On hearing unfounded rumors that Crazy Horse was planning a rebellion, Crook ordered his arrest.

Taking his family with him, Crazy Horse headed for the Spotted Tail Agency to the northwest.

In a parley with troops sent to capture him, Crazy Horse agreed to return, and the next day, September 5, 1877, he was led back to Fort Robinson.

What exactly happened at the Red Cloud Agency is unknown.

It is thought Crazy Horse had not expected to be imprisoned.

On realizing he was being taken to the stockade, he resisted and, while the Indian police attempted to regain control, he was bayoneted in the abdomen by a soldier.

Crazy Horse died that night.

His father and stepmother were given his body and, following their son’s request, buried him in his homeland—somewhere near Wounded Knee, according to legend. (See also RED CLOUD ; SITTING BULL .)

link below-

www.emayzine.com/lectures/CRAZYHOR.html

[mdenney]

Chronology of Crazy Horse Memorial



A chronology of major events in the progress at Crazy Horse Memorial -- a nonprofit cultural and educational humanitarian project with three major goals: the mountain carving, the Indian Museum of North America, and the Indian University of North America and Medical Training Center for the North American Indian.

1939

Boston-born Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski wins first prize for sculpture at the New York World's Fair with his marble portrait, "Paderewski: Study of an Immortal," prompting Lakota Indian Chiefs to invite him to carve Crazy Horse in the Black Hills of S. Dak. That summer he works briefly as assistant to Gutzon Borglum carving Mt. Rushmore Memorial in the Black Hills.

1940

Korczak visits the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in S. Dak. to meet Chief Henry Standing Bear. Learns much about Crazy Horse and makes clay model (with right arm outstretched).

1941-42

Korczak sculpts 13-1/2-foot Noah Webster Statue as gift to West Hartford, Conn. Ruth Ross is among student volunteers helping with the Noah Webster. The sculptor studies extensively about Crazy Horse and the Native American.

1943-45

Korczak volunteers, at age 34, for service in WWII (lands on Omaha Beach; suffers wounds later). At war's end, the sculptor decides to accept the Indians' invitation and turns down government commission to create war memorials in Europe.

1946

The Indians insist Crazy Horse be carved in their sacred Black Hills, and Standing Bear and Korczak locate the 600-foot monolith the sculptor names Thunderhead Mountain. He uses his own money to buy privately-owned land nearby. From stone off the Noah Webster Statue, Korczak sculpts the Tennessee marble Crazy Horse 1/300th scale model (left arm outstretched).

1947

Korczak arrives at Crazy Horse May 3rd. He is 38. Lives in a tent while building log studio-home. Decides to carve the entire 600-foot mt. in the round rather than just the top 100 feet, as originally planned.

1948

Memorial is dedicated June 3rd with first blast on the mountain. Special guests include five of the nine survivors of Battle of Little Big Horn. Korczak promises that Crazy Horse will be a nonprofit educational and cultural humanitarian project financed by the interested public and not with government tax money; he pledges never to take a salary at Crazy Horse. Korczak single-jacks four holes for the first blast, which takes off only 10 tons. He falls, suffering his first injury on the mountain. Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation formed Aug. 16th. Sculptor continues "pioneering"-building roads, sinking a well, creating a first lake, "finishing" the studio-home. That winter he builds 741-step staircase to mt. top (elevation: 6,740 feet above sea level). Volunteer Ruth Ross helps build staircase.

1949

97,000 tons blasted off (horizontal cut under horse's mane) as work begins on mt. Sculptor works alone with one small jackhammer powered by a gas compressor (the old Buda) at bottom of mt. Connecting pipeline runs 2,040 feet up and across mountain. Early mt. work is done under special use permit; then under a mining claim. Korczak has $174 left to his name. Continues improving studio-home for public. IRS makes Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation tax exempt on Nov. 28th.

1950

Works second summer on mt. (mane cut). Thanksgiving Day, marries Ruth Ross. First admission fee 50 cents per adult (after 1949 contributions averaged five cents per person visiting studio-home); sculptor establishes policy there will be no admission charge for Native Americans, military personnel in uniform, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in uniform or Custer County residents. Builds 32-foot addition to viewing veranda.

1951

Korczak paints outline of Crazy Horse on mt. Six-foot wide lines take 176 gallons of paint. During winter, from Crazy Horse granite Korczak carves 3,000-lb. "Wild Bill" Hickok statue as gift for Deadwood, S. Dak.

1952

Starts cut for Indian's 90-foot profile. "The bucket" aerial cable car (run by antique Chevy engine) working to haul equipment and tools to top of horse's head. Electric compressor now at base of mt. In winter Korczak carves 1/24th scale model of Crazy Horse's head from a 48-inch-diameter pine tree; also carves 1/1,200th Crazy Horse scale model (5inch miniature) from lemon wood.

1953-55

Sculptor continues work in front of Indian's face, blasting down to below nose. Korczak suffers a back injury when a cable snaps. Purchases first bulldozer. Sculptor turns down $10 million in potential federal funding. Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation acquires the mt. and 328 acres around it in a land exchange with federal government. Korczak builds modern milking parlor for Holstein dairy farm. Minnesota students present architectural model of the future of Crazy Horse. Admission to 75 cents per adult. From Crazy Horse granite, Korczak carves nearly seven-ton Sitting Bull Memorial.

1956

630,000 tons removed to date (down to Indian's chin). Korczak works all winter on first road up back of mt. to top. Moves Buda compressor to top (shorter airline gives more power). Now able to use wagon drill as well as jackhammer and jackleg.

1957-58

300,000 tons cleared from above arm. Constructs Avenue of the Chiefs (gravel) direct from Highway 16-385 port of entry to studio-home. (First rocky trail in was nicknamed "oil pan alley.") Builds and begins operating lumber mill.

1959-60

395,000 tons cleared from arm (1,325,000 tons to date). Sculptor has first "cat" working on top (much more rapid progress clearing arm). Danger increases. Korczak breaks right wrist and thumb.

1961-62

475,000 tons removed from above arm. Korczak again turns down $10 million in potential federal funding, Builds Sun Room, workshop, roof over visitor viewing porch, large garage and machine shop. Drills new well for studio home. Sculptor gives his mahogany portrait of Chief Standing Bear to President John F. Kennedy. Crazy Horse School opens, Korczak's first spinal operation (two lower discs removed).

1963

200,000 tons removed (2,000,000 to date). Finishes clearing above Indian's arm. Starts new road downward across horse's mane (to clear in front of tunnel to come later). Builds Theater #1.

1964-65

350,000 tons removed from horse's mane area. Builds four-story, 26ton scaffold on tracks in front of Crazy Horse's face. In winter Korczak creates 16-ton (1/34th scale) plaster model of Crazy Horse. Finishes writing poem to be carved in three-foot letters on mt. Drills 377-foot deep well. Modernizes public restrooms. Admission fee to $1 for those over 15. Korczak's second spinal operation (a third disc removed).

1966-67

450,000 tons removed from mane area and in front of Indian's chest (2,800,000 to date). Electricity to top of mt. and first electric compressor taken all the way up. Charles A. Morss Bridge built. Entrance, road and visitor parking lot blacktopped. Builds octagonal dining room. Korczak's third spinal operation (fourth and fifth discs removed).

1968

75,000 tons removed as tunneling into mt. Begins for what will be the start of the opening under the Indian's outstretched arm. Korczak has slight heart attack. U.S. Post Office opens at Crazy Horse April 1st with Ruth as Postmistress (for $1 a year). Charles Eder Indian collection and Ebell Egyptian (King "Tut") furnishings given to Crazy Horse.

1969-70

325,000 tons removed (3,200,000 to date). Tunnel under arm to day-light through the mt. Korczak purchases D-9 "Cat" (Zeus) and acquires new compressor, air trac, huge "Cat" drill-compressor, Eight of Korczak's marble works of sculpture vandalized at entrance to studio-home. Sculptor receives honorary Doctorate from Fairfield University, Conn, Korczak has massive heart attack,

1971

200,000 tons removed. Korczak enlarges tunnel and begins removing right end of 600-foot mt. in front of horse's head. Project is out of debt for first time. In winter Korczak begins his tomb about 500 yards from the base of the mountain.

1972

200,000 tons removed. Very dangerous bulldozing at top of horse's head. In winter sculptor and sons build Indian museum, new restrooms, additional water system, new well and drain field. Admission to $4 a car-load.

1973

200,000 tons removed. First 3 years work at top and in front of horse's head begins to change the silhouette of mt. against horizon. Museum dedicated May 30th. Korczak has worsening diabetes and arthritis.

1974

300,000 tons removed (4.100,000 to date). Work continues in front of horse's head. New road built on back of mt. Chief Luther Standing Bear and Sunflower Indian collections given to museum. Sculptor receives Trustee Award from National Western Heritage and Cowboy Hall of Fame. IRS reaffirms Crazy Horse Memorial tax exempt status.

1975

500,000 tons removed, blasting to about halfway down in front of horse's head. "Flying Cat Incident (bulldozer cartwheels 250 feet down the mt.). Korczak bulldozes with right foot in a cast after operation to remove a large spur and repair separated Achilles tendon. He builds 80-foot-long, 24-ton boom, hoist and metal platform/work cage for future work on horse's head.

1976

500,000 tons removed (5,100,000 to date). Reader's Digest U.S. bicentennial books ranks Crazy Horse "One of the seven wonders of the modern world." Expansion of visitor complex continues.

1977

600,000 tons removed. Heaviest blasting of the project. 100th anniversary of Crazy Horse's death Sept. 6th, Korczak's 69th birthday, Crazy Horse Centennial Blast Largest of the project) removes 40,000 tons at one time. 30th anniversary of Korczak's arrival at Crazy Horse May 3rd.

1978

500,000 tons removed (6,200,000 to date) June 3rd is 30th anniversary of dedication of the mt. Korczak celebrates his 70th birthday blasting and bulldozing--as usual. Korczak and Ruth launch Crazy Horse Memorial Indian Scholarship program as a "good faith gesture" toward the Memorial's long-range educational goals. Korczak's tomb nears completion.

1979

300,000 tons removed (6,500,00 to date). First cut into mt. toward horse's nose. Two new roads up back of mt. Fortieth anniversary of Standing Bear's invitation to Korczak to carve the mt. Two collections donated to Indian Museum. Concord Stagecoach (circa. 1856) acquired, Tashunka Witco Nature and Historical Hiking Trail mapped out (as a Boy Scout Eagle project).

1980

250,000 tons removed (6,750,000 to date). Further cutting into mt. toward horse's nose. Second D-9 Cat (Jupiter) acquired. Two new roads on back of mt. One week after his 72nd birthday in September Korczak has fourth back operation to remove a sixth consecutive disk, but he works on the mt. through the rare open winter. Also, he builds first phase of the Crazy Horse Village, sinks well #14 (206 ft,), designs new wing for Indian Museum, Designs and begins building 50-foot Nature Gates, hand cuts steel letters for the legend on the door of his tomb: KORCZAK-Storyteller in Stone--May His Remains Be Left Unknown. Tomb is consecrated on an April morning by Father William O'Conneil. Christopherson oil portrait of Korczak is unveiled. Logging operation resumed. Admission fee to $5 a CAR-load. Korczak and Ruth celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.

1981

450,000 tons removed (7,200,000 to date). Seventh million ton removed on May 3rd, the 34th anniversary of Korczak's arrival in the Black Hills. First road downward across scarf of mt. completed to under the horse's nose. Also, a new road on back of mt, Sculptor roughs-out horse's left eye and constructs 20-foot steel template for work on the eye. Visitation tops one million for first time. Korczak receives honorary doctorate from Black Hills State College for his humanitarian concept for Crazy Horse Memorial. Design for Chief Crazy Horse 13cent regular-issue U. S. postage stamp unveiled at Crazy Horse Sept. 6th, Korczak's 73rd birthday Black Hills Nature Gates set in place. Two major wells deepened (including original 1947 well). Logging and post operation continue.

1982

200,000 tons removed (7,400,000 to date) as work in front of horse's head continues. First Day of Issue Ceremony Jan. 15th in Indian Museum for Crazy Horse stamp, part of the Great Americans Series. CRAZY HORSE and KORCZAK· The Story of an Epic Mountain Carving by Robb DeWall published May 3rd, commemorating the 35th anniversary of Korczak's 1947 arrival in the Black Hills to begin the nonprofit, Crazy Horse humanitarian project. On July 24th Korczak under goes quadruple heart bypass operation. He spends his 74th birthday on September 6th supervising his sons and daughters painting a new outline of the horse's head on the mt. Second land exchange with federal government approved. 500 Order of the Arrow Boy Scouts camp around mt.

October 20, 1982

Korczak dies unexpectedly at the age of 74. His wife, Ruth, and all 10 of their sons and daughters are with him as he is laid to rest in the tomb he and his sons built near the mountain. Ruth and their large family express their dedication and determination to carry on his Crazy Horse dream according to his detailed plans. Tributes arrive from throughout the nation and many foreign countries. Korczak is eulogized as a man of "legends, dreams, visions and greatness" and Indian representatives proclaim that "two races of people have lost a great man."

1983

Korczak's Crazy Horse dream continues. Mrs. Ziolkowski assumes supervision of all activities on the mt. and off. 200,000 tons removed (7,600,000 to date) as over-all blocking out continues. Outline on mt, expanded. Pope John Paul II accepts a bronze of Crazy Horse 1/1,200th scale model mounted on granite from the mt. Legislature designates May 3rd annually as Korczak Day in S. D. Construction includes tripling size of parking lot, adding Theater #2, enlarging viewing verandah, and sinking well #15. A $60,000 check is left in contribution box.

1984

200,000 tons removed (7,800,000 to date). Comprehensive measurement on mt. in the round underway. Indian Museum tripled in size. Grass Roots Club launched. Crazy Horse U.S. stamp issue tops one BILLION. Viewing verandah greatly expanded. Laughing Water Restaurant, Arrowhead Lake built. Wells #17 and #18 drilled.

1985

Total rock removed reaches approximately 8,000,000 tons to date as comprehensive measurement and blocking-out continue on mt. carving. New 1,000 ft.-long road on mt. Construction begins on rock building at visitor complex. Five hundred Boy Scouts camp around mt.

1986

First annual Volksmarch up the mt. carving where new explosives engineering techniques are being used for areas nearer finish surface. Ahrlin Collection and the Harris Jewelry Collection donated to Indian Museum. Long-range program launched to cast Korczak's sculpture in bronze to benefit Crazy Horse. Visitor complex improvements include main lobby remodeling. Ruth Ziolkowski is 60 on June 26th.

1987

Measurement on Crazy Horse's head and face begins after board of directors of the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation in October endorses Mrs. Ziolkowski's recommendation to shift priority on the mt. carving from the 22-story horse's head to Crazy Horse's nine-story face. May 3rd is 40th anniversary of Korczak's arrival in the Black Hills to accept Indians' invitation to carve Crazy Horse. Gifts to Indian Museum include Harris Navajo rug collection donated to Indian Museum. Two collections (5,000 volumes) donated to Crazy Horse Library. 1Oth anniversary of Scholarship Program. Plaster cast of Korczak's seven-ton "Sitting Bull Memorial" joins permanent collection at Crazy Horse.

1988

Blocking-out Crazy Horse's face begins, starting to remove the protective rock left by Korczak. Comprehensive measurement continues on the head and face. Weathered "Slow Man at Work" scaffold in front of face removed. Major new mt. road built. June 3rd S. D. Gov. George S. Mickelson and Ruth Ziolkowski set off Memorial's 40th anniversary blast; when he was seven years old, he had helped his father, Gov. George T. Mickelson, set off the first blast on Crazy Horse. US WEST Foundation pledges $50,000 over five years to Scholarship Program. First computer for development of computer assisted design (CAD) program to augment measurement on the mt. donated by Apple Computer, Inc.

1989

First detail work on the mountain begins at the top of Crazy Horse's forehead as the face continues to be blocked out three-dimensionally Pointing system in use for the first time. A 3,400-degree, super-sonic torch goes into use as a cutting and "finishing" tool. Lightning-caused fire July 29th destroys both electric compressors, compressor building and mt. equipment. Work continues with portable compressors. Eight lighting firms donate the first phase of a floodlight system for the mt., and publisher Malcolm Forbes on Aug. 11th officially illuminates the mt. for the first time. First night blast Sept. 6th. Rose collection donated to Indian Museum. Crazy Horse Library nears completion. Wells #19, #20, #21 drilled.

1990

Crazy Horse's forehead "rough finished" and right eye "opens." Detail work on Crazy Horse's face continues through first (1989-90) of a series of "open" winters. Eyebrows blocked-out, and work progresses roughing-out the nose. Two new electric compressors acquired for the mt., housed in new block building. Memorial hosts S.D.'s first Native American Day Oct. 8th, and Korczak and Ruth Ziolkowski receive Reconciliation Awards for their life-long dedication to the Crazy Horse Memorial humanitarian project. Modest increases during the last decade bring admission to $10 a carload.

1991

Crazy Horse "opens" both eyes on the Black Hills, and Crazy Horse's profile from forehead to chin is blocked out against the sky for the first time, About 17' of rock removed from in front of the chin and along about one-half the 263-foot length of the out-stretched arm. The mt. is blessed in four spiritual ceremonies by Lakota, Minataree and Shawnee leaders. A pipe believed used by Crazy Horse is donated to the Memorial. Lloyd Duggins of Mauckport, Indiana (who never visited Crazy Horse) bequeaths some $230,000, the largest gift to date to the Memorial. The final three light banks around the mt. are installed. First annual Crazy Horse Stampede (All-Indian Rodeo) and "A Gift from Mother Earth" arts and crafts festival. Steve and Molly Dancey Collection of historical photographs acquired. Ruth Ziolkowski is 65 on June 26th. For carrying on Korczak's Crazy Horse dream she is awarded an honorary doctorate from S.D. School of Mines & Technology.

1992

Crazy Horse's nose is two-thirds out in space; Ruth Ziolkowski makes a "conservative but realistic" projection that the face of Crazy Horse will be finished by the year 2000. Detail work begins on the right eyelid; thinning the face continues in cheek and jaw areas. Progress speeded by a third consecutive "open" winter (1991-92). Year-long project to remove 17' of rock from above the arm is completed (with a 2,000-ton blast on Ruth's 66th birthday). Major new road up mt. Memorial observes the 150th anniversary of the 1842 (?) birth of Crazy Horse and the 10th anniversary of the death of Korczak, Benefit concert Oct. 20th by tenor White Eagle and pianist David Strickland commemorates the dual anniversaries. Parking lot expanded.

1993

Crazy Horse's eyelids are carved, the eyebrows are shaped, most of last rock beneath the nose is removed, and the first rough cut is made for the lips. Rock removal also continues from Crazy Horse's chest, the horse's mane and along the out-stretched arm. Fourth consecutive mild winter (1992-93). First maintenance shop built on mt. S. D. Gov. Walter Dale Miller sets off June 3rd blast marking 45th anniversary of dedication of the Memorial. Scholarship program observes 15th anniversary ($133,550 distributed to 864 Native American students mostly from the nine S. D. reservations). US WEST Foundation donates $50,000 for planned Native American Educational and Cultural Center (rock building). Multi-phase water improvement project continues. Admission is $15 a carload. At White House President Bill Clinton accepts bronzes of Korczak's "John E Kennedy" and "Crazy Horse" 1/1,200th scale model.

1994

Both nose lobes defined and tip of nose rounded; upper half of both cheeks cut and "polished;" eyebrows carved. Mild winter 1993-94. Fiberglass cast of Crazy Horse 1/34th scale model created to facilitate computer imaging programs for mt. measuring. Six original oil paintings by Frank McCarthy and many prints gifted to the Memorial by Tom and Jean Doherty of Connecticut and their family. Authorized by the S. D. legislature, a larger-than-life size bronze of Korczak's "Fighting Stallions" is unveiled April 19th on state capitol grounds in Pierre, S. D. as a memorial to eight air crash victims including Gov. George S. Mickelson.

1995

Crazy Horse's face is two-thirds finished; face completion date is advanced two years to June 3, 1998, the Memorial's 50th anniversary. Nose and cheek bone areas completed during another mild winter (1994-95); work progresses downward on face. Roof built on Native American Educational and Cultural Center. 10th anniversary Volksmarch draws 10,511 hikers. 150,000-gallon reservoir built. Admission remains $15 a carload.

1996

Crazy Horse's mouth is blocked out (after two years of work on the lips); much of the left cheek is cut and smoothed to the jaw line. Native American Educational and Cultural Center dedicated on Native American Day Oct. 14th, Joe Day Collection bequeathed to Indian Museum. Edward Curtis print collection donated by Bill Turner. First college extension course offered at the Memorial. 50th anniversary of Standing Bear and Korczak picking out the mt. Blasting supervisor (1987-1996) Paul Muehl dies after a long illness. Ruth Ziolkowski's 70th birthday includes a 70-fireball tribute on the mt. Larger-than-life-size "Fighting Stallions" bronze donated to Memorial.

1997

50th anniversary of Korczak's May 3, 1947 arrival in the Black Hills to accept the Indians' invitation to carve Crazy Horse Memorial. Ongoing detail work on Crazy Horse's head and face and continued rock removal from other areas of the mt, carving in the round. Continued growth of the educational and cultural aspects of the Memorial. At a Vatican audience Pope John Paul II accepts a bronze of Korczak's "Paderewski: Study of an Immortal."

1998

Dedication of the face of Crazy Horse (just the face portion of the colossal mt. carving) on June 3, 1998, the 50th anniversary of the first blast on the mt. and the June 3, 1948 dedication of Crazy Horse Memorial. (Due to uncertainties of weather and financing it is not possible to predict when the over-all mt. carving might be completed in the round.)

1999

Blasting begins to create a series of horizontal benches (access roads) to the 219 foot horse's head; newly acquired heavy equipment speeds drilling. 60th anniversary of Standing Bear's invitation to Korczak to carve Crazy Horse. U.S. President Bill Clinton visits July 6th. Ground breaking for the new 40,000 sq. ft. Orientation and Communications Center and New Lakota Wing for the Indian Museum of North America. Phase One of Avenue of the Chiefs widening completed (including removal of entrance bridge).

2000

Rock removal begins at top of horse's head and first bench completed around top of head. Orientation Center and Lakota Wing dedicated June 7th. Phase Two of Avenue of the Chiefs widening completed (including parking lot). Scholarship Program cumulative total tops $300,000. 50th anniversary of marriage of Korczak and Ruth Ziolkowski. Seven of their sons and daughters continue working with their mother continuing the project. U.S. Senate unanimously recommends creation of a U.S. commemorative stamp honoring Korczak and Crazy Horse Memorial.

2001

Progress continues on the network of access roads around the horse's head. Completion work underway on lower level of Orientation and Communications Center (to be used for educational purposes and to house the Crazy Horse Research Library). Gifts of artifacts and art continue for the growing Indian Museum collection.

Being continued -- Ever Growing...

link below-

www.crazyhorse.org/story/chrono.shtml

[mdenney]

Tashunkewitko

Chief Crazy Horse



Native American Lore

A very great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky.

I was hostile to the white man, as we preferred hunting to a life of idleness on our reservations.

At times we did not get enough to eat and we were not allowed to hunt.

All we wanted was peace and to be left alone. Soldiers came and destroyed our villages.

Then Long Hair (Custer) came; they say we massacred him, but he would have done the same to us.

Our first impulse was to escape, but we were so hemmed in we had to fight."



Tashunkewitko was born on the Republican River about 1845. He was killed at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, in 1877, so that he lived barely thirty-three years. He was an uncommonly handsome man. While not the equal of Gall in magnificence and imposing stature, he was physically perfect, an Apollo in symmetry. Furthermore he was a true type of Indian refinement and grace.

He was as modest and courteous as Chief Joseph; the difference is that he was a born warrior, while Joseph was not. However, he was a gentle warrior, a true brave, who stood for the highest ideal of the Sioux. Notwithstanding all that biased historians have said of him, it is only fair to judge a man by the estimate of his own people rather than that of his enemies.

The boyhood of Crazy Horse was passed in the days when the western Sioux saw a white man but seldom, and then it was usually a trader or a soldier. He was carefully brought up according to the tribal customs.

At that period the Sioux prided themselves on the training and development of their sons and daughters, and not a step in that development was overlooked as an excuse to bring the child before the public by giving a feast in its honor.

At such times the parents often gave so generously to the needy that they almost impoverished themselves, thus setting an example to the child of self-denial for the general good. His first step alone, the first word spoken, first game killed, the attainment of manhood or womanhood, each was the occasion of a feast and dance in his honor, at which the poor always benefited to the full extent of the parents' ability.

Big-heartedness, generosity, courage and self-denial are the qualifications of a public servant, and the average Indian was keen to follow this ideal. As every one knows, these characteristic traits become a weakness when he enters a life founded upon commerce and gain.

Under such conditions the life of Crazy Horse began. His mother, like other mothers, tender and watchful of her boy, would never once place an obstacle in the way of his father's severe physical training. They laid the spiritual and patriotic foundations of his education in such a way that he early became conscious of the demands of public service.

He was perhaps four or five years old when the band was snowed in one severe winter. They were very short of food, but his father was a tireless hunter. The buffalo, their main dependence, were not to be found, but he was out in the storm and cold every day and finally brought in two antelopes. The little boy got on his pet pony and rode through the camp, telling the old folks to come to his mother's teepee for meat.

It turned out that neither his father nor mother had authorized him to do this. Before they knew it, old men and women were lined up before the teepee home, ready to receive the meat, in answer to his invitation. As a result, the mother had to distribute nearly all of it, keeping only enough for two meals. On the following day the child asked for food. His mother told him that the old folks had taken it all, and added: "Remember, my son, they went home singing praises in your name, not my name or your father's. You must be brave. You must live up to your reputation."

Crazy Horse loved horses, and his father gave him a pony of his own when he was very young. He became a fine horseman and accompanied his father on buffalo hunts, holding the pack horses while the men chased the buffalo and thus gradually learning the art. In those days the Sioux had but few guns, and the hunting was mostly done with bow and arrows.

Another story told of his boyhood is that when he was about twelve he went to look for the ponies with his little brother, whom he loved much, and took a great deal of pain to teach what he had already learned. They came to some wild cherry trees full of ripe fruit, and while they were enjoying it, the brothers were startled by the growl and sudden rush of a bear.

Young Crazy Horse pushed his brother up into the nearest tree and himself sprang upon the back of one of the horses, which was frightened and ran some distance before he could control him. As soon as he could, however, he turned him about and came back, yelling and swinging his lariat over his head. The bear at first showed fight but finally turned and ran. The old man who told me this story added that young as he was, he had some power, so that even a grizzly did not care to tackle him.

I believe it is a fact that a silver-tip will dare anything except a bell or a lasso line, so that accidentally the boy had hit upon the very thing which would drive him off. It was usual for Sioux boys of his day to wait in the field after a buffalo hunt until sundown, when the young calves would come out in the open, hungrily seeking their mothers. Then these wild children would enjoy a mimic hunt, and lasso the calves or drive them into camp.

Crazy Horse was found to be a determined little fellow, and it was settled one day among the larger boys that they would "stump" him to ride a good-sized bull calf. He rode the calf, and stayed on its back while it ran bawling over the hills, followed by the other boys on their ponies, until his strange mount stood trembling and exhausted.


At the age of sixteen he joined a war party against the Gros Ventres. He was well in the front of the charge, and at once established his bravery by following closely one of the foremost Sioux warriors, by the name of Hump, drawing the enemy's fire and circling around their advance guard. Suddenly Hump's horse was shot from under him, and there was a rush of warriors to kill or capture him while down.

But amidst a shower of arrows the youth leaped from his pony, helped his friend into his own saddle, sprang up behind him, and carried him off in safety, although they were hotly pursued by the enemy. Thus he associated himself in his maiden battle with the wizard of Indian warfare, and Hump, who was then at the height of his own career, pronounced Crazy Horse the coming warrior of the Teton Sioux.

At this period of his life, as was customary with the best young men, he spent much time in prayer and solitude. Just what happened in these days of his fasting in the wilderness and upon the crown of bald buttes, no one will ever know; for these things may only be known when one has lived through the battles of life to an honored old age. He was much sought after by his youthful associates, but was noticeably reserved and modest; yet in the moment of danger he at once rose above them all -- a natural leader!

Crazy Horse was a typical Sioux brave, and from the point of view of our race, an ideal hero, living at the height of the epical progress of the American Indian and maintaining in his own character all that was most subtle and ennobling of their spiritual life; and that has since been lost in the contact with a material civilization.


He loved Hump, that peerless warrior, and the two became close friends, in spite of the difference in age. Men called them "the grizzly and his cub." Again and again the pair saved the day for the Sioux in a skirmish with some neighboring tribe. But one day they undertook a losing battle against the Snakes. The Sioux were in full retreat and were fast being overwhelmed by superior numbers.

The old warrior fell in a last desperate charge; but Crazy Horse and his younger brother, though dismounted, killed two of the enemy and thus made good their retreat. It was observed of him that when he pursued the enemy into their stronghold, as he was wont to do, he often refrained from killing, and simply struck them with a switch, showing that he did not fear their weapons nor care to waste his upon them. In attempting this very feat, he lost this only brother of his, who emulated him closely.

A party of young warriors, led by Crazy Horse, had dashed upon a frontier post, killed one of the sentinels, stampeded the horses, and pursued the herder to the very gate of the stockade, thus drawing upon themselves the fire of the garrison. The leader escaped without a scratch, but his young brother was brought down from his horse and killed.

While he was still under twenty, there was a great winter buffalo hunt, and he came back with ten buffaloes' tongues which he sent to the council lodge for the councilors' feast. He had in one winter day killed ten buffalo cows with his bow and arrows, and the unsuccessful hunters or those who had no swift ponies were made happy by his generosity. When the hunters returned, these came chanting songs of thanks. He knew that his father was an expert hunter and had a good horse, so he took no meat home, putting in practice the spirit of his early teaching.

He attained his majority at the crisis of the difficulties between the United States and the Sioux. Even before that time, Crazy Horse had already proved his worth to his people in Indian warfare. He had risked his life again and again, and in some instances it was considered almost a miracle that he had saved others as well as himself.

He was no orator nor was he the son of a chief. His success and influence was purely a matter of personality. He had never fought the whites up to this time, and, indeed, no "coup" was counted for killing or scalping a white man.

Young Crazy Horse was twenty-one years old when all the Teton Sioux chiefs (the western or plains dwellers) met in council to determine upon their future policy toward the invader. Their former agreements had been by individual bands, each for itself, and every one was friendly.

They reasoned that the country was wide, and that the white traders should be made welcome. Up to this time they had anticipated no conflict. They had permitted the Oregon Trail, but now to their astonishment forts were built and garrisoned in their territory. Most of the chiefs advocated a strong resistance. There were a few influential men who desired still to live in peace, and who were willing to make another treaty.

Among these were White Bull, Two Kettle, Four Bears, and Swift Bear. Even Spotted Tail, afterward the great peace chief, was at this time with the majority, who decided in the year 1866 to defend their rights and territory by force. Attacks were to be made upon the forts within their country and on every trespasser on the same.

Crazy Horse took no part in the discussion, but he and all the young warriors were in accord with the decision of the council. Although so young, he was already a leader among them. Other prominent young braves were Sword (brother of the man of that name who was long captain of police at Pine Ridge), the younger Hump, Charging Bear, Spotted Elk, Crow King, No Water, Big Road, He Dog, the nephew of Red Cloud and Touch-the-Cloud, intimate friend of Crazy Horse.

The attack on Fort Phil Kearny was the first fruits of the new policy, and here Crazy Horse was chosen to lead the attack on the woodchoppers, designed to draw the soldiers out of the fort, while an army of six hundred lay in wait for them. The success of this stratagem was further enhanced by his masterful handling of his men. From this time on a general war was inaugurated; Sitting Bull looked to him as a principal war leader, and even the Cheyenne chiefs, allies of the Sioux, practically acknowledged his leadership. Yet during the following ten years of defensive war he was never known to make a speech, though his teepee was the rendezvous of the young men.




He was depended upon to put into action the decisions of the council, and was frequently consulted by the older chiefs. Like Osceola, he rose suddenly; like Tecumseh he was always impatient for battle; like Pontiac, he fought on while his allies were suing for peace, and like Grant, the silent soldier, he was a man of deeds and not of words. He won from Custer and Fetterman and Crook.

He won every battle that he undertook, with the exception of one or two occasions when he was surprised in the midst of his women and children, and even then he managed to extricate himself in safety from a difficult position.

Early in the year 1876, his runners brought word from Sitting Bull that all the roving bands would converge upon the upper Tongue River in Montana for summer feasts and conferences. There was conflicting news from the reservation. It was rumoured that the army would fight the Sioux to a finish; again, it was said that another commission would be sent out to treat with them.

The Indians came together early in June, and formed a series of encampments stretching out from three to four miles, each band keeping separate camp. On June 17, scouts came in and reported the advance of a large body of troops under General Crook. The council sent Crazy Horse with seven hundred men to meet and attack him. These were nearly all young men, many of them under twenty, the flower of the hostile Sioux.

They set out at night so as to steal a march upon the enemy, but within three or four miles of his camp they came unexpectedly upon some of his Crow scouts. There was a hurried exchange of shots; the Crows fled back to Crook's camp, pursued by the Sioux.

The soldiers had their warning, and it was impossible to enter the well-protected camp. Again and again Crazy Horse charged with his bravest men, in the attempt to bring the troops into the open, but he succeeded only in drawing their fire. Toward afternoon he withdrew, and returned to camp disappointed. His scouts remained to watch Crook's movements, and later brought word that he had retreated to Goose Creek and seemed to have no further disposition to disturb the Sioux.


It is well known to us that it was Crook rather than Reno who was to blame for cowardice in connection with Custer's fate. The latter had no chance to do anything, he was lucky to save himself; but if Crook had kept on his way, as ordered, to meet Terry, with his one thousand regulars and two hundred Crow and Shoshone scouts, he would inevitably have intercepted Custer in his advance and saved the day for him, and war with the Sioux would have ended right there. Instead of this, he fell back upon Fort Meade, eating his horses on the way, in a country swarming with game, for fear of Crazy Horse and his braves!

The Indians now crossed the divide between the Tongue and the Little Big Horn, where they felt safe from immediate pursuit. Here, with all their precautions, they were caught unawares by General Custer, in the midst of their midday games and festivities, while many were out upon the daily hunt.




On this twenty-fifth of June, 1876, the great camp was scattered for three miles or more along the level river bottom, back of the thin line of cottonwoods, five circular rows of teepees, ranging from half a mile to a mile and a half in circumference. Here and there stood out a large, white, solitary teepee; these were the lodges or "clubs" of the young men. Crazy Horse was a member of the "Strong Hearts" and the "Tokala" or Fox lodge. He was watching a game of ring-toss when the warning came from the southern end of the camp of the approach of troops.

The Sioux and the Cheyenne were "minute men", and although taken by surprise, they instantly responded. Meanwhile, the women and children were thrown into confusion. Dogs were howling, ponies running hither and thither, pursued by their owners, while many of the old men were singing their lodge songs to encourage the warriors, or praising the "strong heart" of Crazy Horse.

That leader had quickly saddled his favorite war pony and was starting with his young men for the south end of the camp, when a fresh alarm came from the opposite direction, and looking up, he saw Custer's force upon the top of the bluff directly across the river. As quick as a flash, he took in the situation; the enemy had planned to attack the camp at both ends at once, and knowing that Custer could not ford the river at that point, he instantly led his men northward to the ford to cut him off.

The Cheyenne followed closely. Custer must have seen that wonderful dash up the sage-bush plain, and one wonders whether he realized its meaning. In a very few minutes, this wild general of the plains had outwitted one of the most brilliant leaders of the Civil War and ended at once his military career and his life.


In this dashing charge, Crazy Horse snatched his most famous victory out of what seemed frightful peril, for the Sioux could not know how many were behind Custer. He was caught in his own trap. To the soldiers it must have seemed as if the Indians rose up from the earth to overwhelm them. They closed in from three sides and fought until not a white man was left alive. Then they went down to Reno's stand and found him so well intrenched in a deep gully that it was impossible to dislodge him. Gall and his men held him there until the approach of General Terry compelled the Sioux to break camp and scatter in different directions.




While Sitting Bull was pursued into Canada, Crazy Horse and the Cheyenne wandered about, comparatively undisturbed, during the rest of that year, until in the winter the army surprised the Cheyenne, but did not do them much harm, possibly because they knew that Crazy Horse was not far off. His name was held in wholesome respect. From time to time, delegations of friendly Indians were sent to him, to urge him to come in to the reservation, promising a full hearing and fair treatment.

For some time he held out, but the rapid disappearance of the buffalo, their only means of support, probably weighed with him more than any other influence. In July, 1877, he was finally prevailed upon to come in to Fort Robinson, Nebraska, with several thousand Indians, most of them Ogallala and Minneconwoju Sioux, on the distinct understanding that the government would hear and adjust their grievances.

At this juncture General Crook proclaimed Spotted Tail, who had rendered much valuable service to the army, head chief of the Sioux, which was resented by many. The attention paid Crazy Horse was offensive to Spotted Tail and the Indian scouts, who planned a conspiracy against him.

They reported to General Crook that the young chief would murder him at the next council, and stampede the Sioux into another war. He was urged not to attend the council and did not, but sent another officer to represent him. Meanwhile the friends of Crazy Horse discovered the plot and told him of it. His reply was, "Only cowards are murderers."

His wife was critically ill at the time, and he decided to take her to her parents at Spotted Tail agency, whereupon his enemies circulated the story that he had fled, and a party of scouts was sent after him.

They overtook him riding with his wife and one other but did not undertake to arrest him, and after he had left the sick woman with her people he went to call on Captain Lea, the agent for the Brules, accompanied by all the warriors of the Minneconjou band.




This volunteer escort made an imposing appearance on horseback, shouting and singing, and in the words of Captain Lea himself and the missionary, the Reverend Mr. Cleveland, the situation was extremely critical. Indeed, the scouts who had followed Crazy Horse from Red Cloud agency were advised not to show themselves, as some of the warriors had urged that they be taken out and horsewhipped publicly. Under these circumstances Crazy Horse again showed his masterful spirit by holding these young men in check. He said to them in his quiet way:

"It is well to be brave in the field of battle; it is cowardly to display bravery against one's own tribesmen. These scouts have been compelled to do what they did; they are no better than servants of the white officers. I came here on a peaceful errand."

The captain urged him to report at army headquarters to explain himself and correct false rumours, and on his giving consent, furnished him with a wagon and escort. It has been said that he went back under arrest, but this is untrue. He either suspected no treachery or was determined to defy it.
Betrayed

When he reached the military camp, Little Big Man walked arm-in-arm with him, and his cousin and friend, Touch-the-Cloud, was just in advance. After they passed the sentinel, an officer approached them and walked on his other side. He was unarmed but for the knife which is carried for ordinary uses by women as well as men


Unsuspectingly he walked toward the guardhouse, when Touch-the-Cloud suddenly turned back exclaiming: "Cousin, they will put you in prison!!! "Another white man's trick! Let me go! Let me die fighting!" cried Crazy Horse. He stopped and tried to free himself and draw his knife, but both arms were held fast by Little Big Man and the officer.
While he struggled thus, a soldier thrust him through with his bayonet from behind. The wound was mortal, and he died in the course of that night, his old father singing the death song over him and afterward carrying away the body; which they said must not be further polluted by the touch of a white man.

They hid it somewhere in the Bad Lands; his resting place to this day. Thus died one of the ablest and truest American Indians. His life was ideal; his record clean. He was never involved in any of the numerous massacres on the trail, but was a leader in practically every open fight.

Such characters as those of Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph are not easily found among so-called civilized people. The reputation of great men is apt to be shadowed by questionable motives and policies, but here are two pure patriots, as worthy of honor as any who ever breathed God's air in the wide spaces of a new world.


link below-

icemaid.virtualave.net/crazyhorse.html

[mdenney]

Chief Joseph
Nez Pierce (1840-1904)
Chief Joseph, known by his people as In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat (Thunder coming up over the land from the water), was best known for his resistance to the U.S. Government's attempts to force his tribe onto reservations. The Nez Perce were a peaceful nation spread from Idaho to Northern Washington. The tribe had maintained good relations with the whites after the Lewis and Clark expedition. Joseph spent much of his early childhood at a mission maintained by Christian missionaries.
In 1855 Chief Joseph's father, Old Joseph, signed a treaty with the U.S. that allowed his people to retain much of their traditional lands. In 1863 another treaty was created that severely reduced the amount of land, but Old Joseph maintained that this second treaty was never agreed to by his people.

A showdown over the second "non-treaty" came after Chief Joseph assumed his role as Chief in 1877. After months of fighting and forced marches, many of the Nez Perce were sent to a reservation in what is now Oklahoma, where many died from malaria and starvation.

Chief Joseph tried every possible appeal to the federal authorities to return the Nez Perce to the land of their ancestors. In 1885, he was sent along with many of his band to a reservation in Washington where, according to the reservation doctor, he later died of a broken heart.



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Quotes from Chief Joseph:
I have carried a heavy load on my back ever since I was a boy. I realized then that we could not hold our own with the white men. We were like deer. They were like grizzly bears. We had small country. Their country was large. We were contented to let things remain as the Great Spirit Chief made them. They were not, and would change the rivers and mountains if they did not suit them.
I am tired of fighting.... from where the sun now stands, I will fight no more.

Our fathers gave us many laws, which they had learned from their fathers. These laws were good. They told us to treat all people as they treated us; that we should never be the first to break a bargain; that is was a disgrace to tell a lie; that we should speak only the truth; that it was a shame for one man to take another's wife or his property without paying for it.

Suppose a white man should come to me and say, "Joseph, I like your horses. I want to buy them."

I say to him, "No, my horses suit me; I will not sell them."

Then he goes to my neighbor and says, "Pay me money, and I will sell you Joseph’s horses."

The white man returns to me and says, "Joseph, I have bought your horses and you must let me have them."

If we sold our lands to the government, this is the way they bought them.

I am not a child, I think for myself. No man can think for me.

If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace. Treat all men alike. Give them a chance to live and grow.

All men were made brothers. The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it. You might as well expect the rivers to run backward as that any man who was born free should be contented when penned up and denied liberty to go where he pleases.

If you tie a horse to a stake, do you expect him to grow fat? If you pen an Indian up on a small spot of earth, and compel him to stay there, he will not be contented, nor will he grow and prosper.

The earth and myself are of one mind.

We were taught to believe that the Great Spirit sees and hears everything, and that he never forgets, that hereafter he will give every man a spirit home according to his deserts; If he has been a good man, he will have a good home; if he has been a bad man, he will have a bad home.

This I believe, and all my people believe the same.

Good words do not last long unless they amount to something. Words do not pay for my dead people. They do not pay for my country, now overrun by white men. They do not protect my father’s grave. They do not pay for all my horses and cattle.

Good words cannot give me back my children. Good words will not give my people good health and stop them from dying. Good words will not get my people a home where they can live in peace and take care of themselves.

I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the broken promises. There has been too much talking by men who had no right to talk.

It does not require many words to speak the truth.

We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God, as the Catholics and Protestants do. We do not want that.

We may quarrel with men about things on earth, but we never quarrel about the Great Spirit.

I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more. I will tell you in my way how the Indian sees things. The white man has more words to tell you how they look to him, but is does not require many words to seek the truth.

Too many misinterpretations have been made... too many misunderstandings...

The Great Spirit Chief who rules above all will smile upon this land... and this time the Indian race is waiting and praying.

I am tired of talk that comes to nothing.



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link below-

www.powersource.com/gallery/people/joseph.html

[mdenney]

Chief Gall was one of the most aggressive leaders of the Sioux nation in their last stand for freedom.
The westward pressure of civilization during the past three centuries has been tremendous. When our hemisphere was "discovered", it had been inhabited by the natives for untold ages, but it was held undiscovered because the original owners did not chart or advertise it. Yet some of them at least had developed ideals of life which included real liberty and equality to all men, and they did not recognize individual ownership in land or other property beyond actual necessity. It was a soul development leading to essential manhood. Under this system they brought forth some striking characters.

Gall was considered by both Indians and whites to be a most impressive type of physical manhood. From his picture you can judge of this for yourself.

Let us follow his trail. He was no tenderfoot. He never asked a soft place for himself. He always played the game according to the rules and to a finish. To be sure, like every other man, he made some mistakes, but he was an Indian and never acted the coward.

The earliest stories told of his life and doings indicate the spirit of the man in that of the boy.

When he was only about three years old, the Blackfoot band of Sioux were on their usual roving hunt, following the buffalo while living their natural happy life upon the wonderful wide prairies of the Dakotas.

It was the way of every Sioux mother to adjust her household effects on such dogs and pack ponies as she could muster from day to day, often lending one or two to accommodate some other woman whose horse or dog had died, or perhaps had been among those stampeded and carried away by a raiding band of Crow warriors. On this particular occasion, the mother of our young Sioux brave, Matohinshda, or Bear-Shedding-His-Hair (Gall's childhood name), intrusted her boy to an old Eskimo pack dog, experienced and reliable, except perhaps when unduly excited or very thirsty.

On the day of removing camp the caravan made its morning march up the Powder River. Upon the wide table-land the women were busily digging teepsinna (an edible sweetish root, much used by them) as the moving village slowly progressed. As usual at such times, the trail was wide. An old jack rabbit had waited too long in hiding. Now, finding himself almost surrounded by the mighty plains people, he sprang up suddenly, his feathery ears conspicuously erect, a dangerous challenge to the dogs and the people.

A whoop went up. Every dog accepted the challenge. Forgotten were the bundles, the kits, even the babies they were drawing or carrying. The chase was on, and the screams of the women reechoed from the opposite cliffs of the Powder, mingled with the yelps of dogs and the neighing of horses. The hand of every man was against the daring warrior, the lone Jack, and the confusion was great.

When the fleeing one cleared the mass of his enemies, he emerged with a swiftness that commanded respect and gave promise of a determined chase. Behind him, his pursuers stretched out in a thin line, first the speedy, unburdened dogs and then the travois dogs headed by the old Eskimo with his precious freight. The youthful Gall was in a travois, a basket mounted on trailing poles and harnessed to the sides of the animal.

"Hey! hey! they are gaining on him!" a warrior shouted. At this juncture two of the canines had almost nabbed their furry prey by the back. But he was too cunning for them. He dropped instantly and sent both dogs over his head, rolling and spinning, then made another flight at right angles to the first. This gave the Eskimo a chance to cut the triangle. He gained fifty yards, but being heavily handicapped, two unladen dogs passed him. The same trick was repeated by the Jack, and this time he saved himself from instant death by a double loop and was now running directly toward the crowd, followed by a dozen or more dogs. He was losing speed, but likewise his pursuers were dropping off steadily. Only the sturdy Eskimo dog held to his even gait, and behind him in the frail travois leaned forward the little Matohinshda, nude save a breech clout, his left hand holding fast the convenient tail of his dog, the right grasping firmly one of the poles of the travois. His black eyes were bulging almost out of their sockets; his long hair flowed out behind like a stream of dark water.

The Jack now ran directly toward the howling spectators, but his marvelous speed and alertness were on the wane; while on the other hand his foremost pursuer, who had taken part in hundreds of similar events, had every confidence in his own endurance. Each leap brought him nearer, fiercer and more determined. The last effort of the Jack was to lose himself in the crowd, like a fish in muddy water; but the big dog made the one needed leap with unerring aim and his teeth flashed as he caught the rabbit in viselike jaws and held him limp in air, a victor!

The people rushed up to him as he laid the victim down, and foremost among them was the frantic mother of Matohinshda, or Gall. "Michinkshe! michinkshe!" (My son! my son!) she screamed as she drew near. The boy seemed to be none the worse for his experience. "Mother!" he cried, "my dog is brave: he got the rabbit!" She snatched him off the travois, but he struggled out of her arms to look upon his dog lovingly and admiringly. Old men and boys crowded about the hero of the day, the dog, and the thoughtful grandmother of Matohinshda unharnessed him and poured some water from a parfleche water bag into a basin. "Here, my grandson, give your friend something to drink."

"How, hechetu," pronounced an old warrior no longer in active service. "This may be only an accident, an ordinary affair; but such things sometimes indicate a career. The boy has had a wonderful ride. I prophesy that he will one day hold the attention of all the people with his doings."

This is the first remembered story of the famous chief, but other boyish exploits foretold the man he was destined to be. He fought many sham battles, some successful and others not; but he was always a fierce fighter and a good loser.

Once he was engaged in a battle with snowballs. There were probably nearly a hundred boys on each side, and the rule was that every fair hit made the receiver officially dead. He must not participate further, but must remain just where he was struck.

Gall's side was fast losing, and the battle was growing hotter every minute when the youthful warrior worked toward an old water hole and took up his position there. His side was soon annihilated and there were eleven men left to fight him. He was pressed close in the wash-out, and as he dodged under cover before a volley of snowballs, there suddenly emerged in his stead a huge gray wolf. His opponents fled in every direction in superstitious terror, for they thought he had been transformed into the animal. To their astonishment he came out on the farther side and ran to the line of safety, a winner!

It happened that the wolf's den had been partly covered with snow so that no one had noticed it until the yells of the boys aroused the inmate, and he beat a hasty retreat. The boys always looked upon this incident as an omen.

Gall had an amiable disposition but was quick to resent insult or injustice. This sometimes involved him in difficulties, but he seldom fought without good cause and was popular with his associates. One of his characteristics was his ability to organize, and this was a large factor in his leadership when he became a man. He was tried in many ways, and never was known to hesitate when it was a question of physical courage and endurance. He entered the public service early in life, but not until he had proved himself competent and passed all tests.

When a mere boy, he was once scouting for game in midwinter, far from camp, and was overtaken by a three days' blizzard. He was forced to abandon his horse and lie under the snow for that length of time. He afterward said he was not particularly hungry; it was thirst and stiffness from which he suffered most. One reason the Indian so loved his horse or dog was that at such times the animal would stay by him like a brother. On this occasion Gall's pony was not more than a stone's throw away when the storm subsided and the sun shone. There was a herd of buffalo in plain sight, and the young hunter was not long in procuring a meal.

This chief's contemporaries still recall his wrestling match with the equally powerful Cheyenne boy, Roman Nose, who afterward became a chief well known to American history. It was a custom of the northwestern Indians, when two friendly tribes camped together, to establish the physical and athletic supremacy of the youth of the respective camps.

The "Che-hoo-hoo" is a wrestling game in which there may be any number on a side, but the numbers are equal. All the boys of each camp are called together by a leader chosen for the purpose and draw themselves up in line of battle; then each at a given signal attacks his opponent.

In this memorable contest, Matohinshda, or Gall, was placed opposite Roman Nose. The whole people turned out as spectators of the struggle, and the battlefield was a plateau between the two camps, in the midst of picturesque Bad Lands. There were many athletic youths present, but these two were really the Apollos of the two tribes.

In this kind of sport it is not allowed to strike with the hand, nor catch around the neck, nor kick, nor pull by the hair. One may break away and run a few yards to get a fresh start, or clinch, or catch as catch can. When a boy is thrown and held to the ground, he is counted out. If a boy has met his superior, he may drop to the ground to escape rough handling, but it is very seldom one gives up without a full trial of strength.

It seemed almost like a real battle, so great was the enthusiasm, as the shouts of sympathizers on both sides went up in a mighty chorus. At last all were either conquerors or subdued except Gall and Roman Nose. The pair seemed equally matched. Both were stripped to the breech clout, now tugging like two young buffalo or elk in mating time, again writhing and twisting like serpents. At times they fought like two wild stallions, straining every muscle of arms, legs, and back in the struggle. Every now and then one was lifted off his feet for a moment, but came down planted like a tree, and after swaying to and fro soon became rigid again.

All eyes were upon the champions. Finally, either by trick or main force, Gall laid the other sprawling upon the ground and held him fast for a minute, then released him and stood erect, panting, a master youth. Shout after shout went up on the Sioux side of the camp. The mother of Roman Nose came forward and threw a superbly worked buffalo robe over Gall, whose mother returned the compliment by covering the young Cheyenne with a handsome blanket.

Undoubtedly these early contests had their influence upon our hero's career. It was his habit to appear most opportunely in a crisis, and in a striking and dramatic manner to take command of the situation. The best known example of this is his entrance on the scene of confusion when Reno surprised the Sioux on the Little Big Horn. Many of the excitable youths, almost unarmed, rushed madly and blindly to meet the intruder, and the scene might have unnerved even an experienced warrior. It was Gall, with not a garment upon his superb body, who on his black charger dashed ahead of the boys and faced them. He stopped them on the dry creek, while the bullets of Reno's men whistled about their ears.

"Hold hard, men! Steady, we are not ready yet! Wait for more guns, more horses, and the day is yours!"

They obeyed, and in a few minutes the signal to charge was given, and Reno retreated pell mell before the onset of the Sioux.

Sitting Bull had confidence in his men so long as Gall planned and directed the attack, whether against United States soldiers or the warriors of another tribe. He was a strategist, and able in a twinkling to note and seize upon an advantage. He was really the mainstay of Sitting Bull's effective last stand. He consistently upheld his people's right to their buffalo plains and believed that they should hold the government strictly to its agreements with them. When the treaty of 1868 was disregarded, he agreed with Sitting Bull in defending the last of their once vast domain, and after the Custer battle entered Canada with his chief. They hoped to bring their lost cause before the English government and were much disappointed when they were asked to return to the United States.

Gall finally reported at Fort Peck, Montana, in 1881, and brought half of the Hunkpapa band with him, whereupon he was soon followed by Sitting Bull himself. Although they had been promised by the United States commission who went to Canada to treat with them that they would not be punished if they returned, no sooner had Gall come down than a part of his people were attacked, and in the spring they were all brought to Fort Randall and held as military prisoners. From this point they were returned to Standing Rock agency.

When "Buffalo Bill" successfully launched his first show, he made every effort to secure both Sitting Bull and Gall for his leading attractions. The military was in complete accord with him in this, for they still had grave suspicions of these two leaders. While Sitting Bull reluctantly agreed, Gall haughtily said: "I am not an animal to be exhibited before the crowd," and retired to his teepee. His spirit was much worn, and he lost strength from that time on. That superb manhood dwindled, and in a few years he died. He was a real hero of a free and natural people, a type that is never to be seen again.


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link below-

www.indians.org/welker/gall.htm

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Chief Sitting Bull

The most famous of the Sioux Indians was Sitting Bull. Considered a great warrior and a religious and cultural leader, Sitting Bull was a composer of songs and an artist. As a leader, he had tremendous power with an extensive following behind him.

A lover of the Indian way of life, Sitting Bull was unwilling to give up the cultural autonomy of his people in order to adapt to life on the reservation. Instead, he insisted on living the free life and chastised those on the reservation.


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The Battle of Little Bighorn
While performing a Sun Dance, Sitting Bull had a vision of what was to be the Battle of Little Bighorn, which took place one month later on June 25th in 1876. In pursuit of Sitting Bull's large Sioux following, along with some Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho, Major General George Armstrong Custer led five companies of the 7th Cavalry toward a three-mile long encampment and attacked. Taken by surprise, the Indians fought with a vengeance. Led by the great warrior Crazy Horse, this battle, also known as "Custer's Last Stand," was to be the greatest military triumph of the Sioux. The victory took but 20 minutes to claim. While Sitting Bull was not directly involved in the fight, he played a spiritual role in the foretelling of his people's victory.



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Sioux Surrender

After this major defeat, the U.S. Cavalry "scorched the earth" killing many Sioux men and women and children. Eventually, some Sioux Chiefs, including Crazy Horse surrendered. In 1881, Sitting Bull and his band of 187 Sioux surrendered to the officials at Fort Buford, North Dakota. He was the last of his tribe to surrender.

In 1883, Sitting Bull was moved to Standing Rock Agency, but he did not confine himself to the reservation. In 1885, he toured with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West and received $50 a week. He made an additional dollar and a half for every picture he autographed.

In 1890, a new Indian religion Involving the Ghost Dance emerged and Sitting Bull embraced it. While the Ghost Dance was considered illegal on the reservation, Sitting Bull and his followers performed it with great zeal, claiming they could stop the bullets of the white man. Viewed as a threat to the peace and order of the reservation, Sitting Bull was to be arrested. On December 15th, 1890, a confrontation took place with the U. S. authorities and Sitting Bull was shot and killed -- not by the white man, but by two Sioux policemen. The exchange of gunfire resulted in the deaths of six Indian policemen and seven of Sitting Bull's followers, including his son, Crow Foot.


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Wounded Knee

The death of Sitting Bull created tremendous turmoil and apprehension among the Sioux. Thirty-eight of Sitting Bull's followers joined Chief Big Foot and his band of nearly 300. The 7th Cavalry quickly apprehended Big Foot and his armed band and moved them to Wounded Knee Creek. There, the Cavalry surrounded the Indians, setting up heavy artillery guns on a hill above the encampment. In the morning, when the troops demanded that the Sioux surrender their arms, a shot rang out, starting a conflict which resulted in the loss of 25 soldiers' lives and nearly 180 Sioux men, women, and children. Left for three wintry days, the bodies were eventually buried by civilians who were paid two dollars a body.




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...I can see that something else died there
in the bloody mud and was buried in the blizzard...
a people's dream died there.

-Black Elk


link below-

www.history.com/exhibits/sioux/sittingbull.html

[mdenney]

Hanging Cloud (Chippewa Princess) - Ojibwa
By Julia White
For some reason not found by me, the Ojibwa were called the Chippewa by white settlers. Hanging Cloud was called the "Chippewa Princess" by those settlers who knew of her mighty deeds for her reputation was widespread.
Hanging Cloud was the daughter of an Ojibwa chief, and was the only woman of the Ojibwa Nation ever allowed to become a full warrior. She wore war paint, carried full battle weapons, and was a deadly warrior. As a warrior, she took part in battles, raids, hunting parties, and all sporting events reserved for warriors. She was also a full member of the war council, performed war dances, and participated in all warrior ceremonies.

Little else is known about Hanging Cloud, but she is legendary among the tribes of the Northern Plains. If any reader can direct this writer to information about this fascinating woman, it would be very much appreciated. I would like to be able to learn about her, and expand on the limited knowledge easily available on her

link below-

www.powersource.com/gallery/womansp/ojibwa.html

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Sacajawea (Boat Launcher) or Sacagawea (Bird Woman) - Shoshoni
By Julia White
The Shoshoni (also Shoshone) lived in Idaho, parts of Utah and parts of Northern Nevada, and it is believed that Sacajawea was born in Eastern Idaho in what is now Salmon, Idaho. Everything about Sacajawea is mysterious from the correct spelling and meaning of her name, to the circumstances surrounding her death. Some of what we do have recorded is relayed here.
At about age 10, Sacajawea was captured by a raiding band of Hidatsa and carried to their camp near the border of North Dakota. Eventually, Sacajawea was sold to a French-Canadian fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau. The Corps of Discovery (as the Lewis and Clark Expedition was officially named) had camped for the winter at Fort Mandan in North Dakota, which is where Charbonneau was also spending the winter with his pregnant wife, Sacajawea.

When winter broke, Charbonneau was hired to guide Lewis & Clark due to his knowledge of the country where he trapped. He was specifically instructed to bring Sacajawea, with her baby boy Jean Baptiste, for a number of reasons. First of all, the presence of a woman and baby would establish the peaceful nature of the party. Secondly a Native translator and negotiator with knowledge of the languages, customs and tribes of the country was essential.

While Lewis' journals make very little mention of Sacajawea, Clark carefully detailed her contributions to the success of the journey. Her knowledge of the terrain and mountain passes saved weeks of travel time. Her ability to speak and negotiate with Native tribes allowed the expedition to keep fresh horses and food all along the way. When food was scarce, Sacajawea gathered and prepared roots, nuts, berries and other edible plants in order to provide tasty nourishment.

Clark was so taken with Sacajawea, and so concerned about her welfare at the hands of the abusive and wife-beating Charbonneau, that he proposed taking the infant boy to St. Louis to be raised in safety. For her efforts in making the expedition successful, Lewis & Clark named a river "Sacajawea" in her honor.

From here, history becomes cloudy. It is known that Sacajawea did take her son to Clark in St. Louis (as promised) where he was raised as Clark's own. She did leave Charbonneau and spend time in St. Louis. One account says that she died of "putrid fever" (smallpox, tuberculosis, scarlet fever??) at age 25, and even Clark's account of the members of his expedition mark her as dead.

Native accounts, however, especially Shoshoni oral history, have Sacajawea marrying several more times, having a number of children, and meeting up with her son Jean Baptiste in Wind River, Wyoming. This woman (called Porivo) had intimate knowledge of the Lewis & Clark expedition, spoke French, wore a Jefferson Medal around her neck, was a political speaker who spoke at the meeting which led to the Ft. Bridger Treaty, was credited with introducing the Sun Dance Ceremony to the Shoshoni, and was an advocate of agriculture as a necessary skill for the Shoshoni. Porivo died at age 96, and was buried in the white cemetery at Ft. Washakie as a final show of respect for her efforts in behalf of both Lewis & Clark, and her own people.

Dr. Charles Eastman, who had been hired by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to locate Sacajawea, opted for the Native history as being the most accurate. After extensive research, Eastman determined that Porivo was, indeed, Sacajawea and a monument was erected in her honor at her gravesite. However, Sacajawea's story will change depending upon the account you're reading, the part of the country you're in, and the heritage of the author of the story. After the passage of so much time, it is unlikely that her movements after she left St. Louis will ever be known with certainty.

What is known with certainty is that Sacajawea was responsible for raising the Native American woman to a new level of respect and admiration.

link below-

www.powersource.com/gallery/womansp/shoshoni.html

[mdenney]

Susan La Flesche - Omaha
By Julia White
Scattered throughout history, there are entire Native families who seemed to be touched by greatness. The La Flesche family was one of those. Iron Eyes was the last Omaha chief and his belief was that the white man was here to stay and the only way for his people to survive was to learn the white ways, be properly educated, and learn to balance Native ways with the white ways. His children went on to become authors, politicians, orators, anthropologists -- and Susan, who distinguished herself by becoming the first Native American woman ever to earn a medical degree and work as a practicing M.D.
After completing her studies and earning her degree, Susan returned to Nebraska as a government physician. She rode on horseback from reservation to reservation, from family to family, treating the sick. It is said that, by the time of her death, she had treated every member of the Omaha Nation.

After a time, she married and settled in Bancroft, Nebraska where she had a private practice treating both Native and white patients. She adopted Christianity, and became a missionary of the Omaha Blackbird Hills Presbyterian Church. She moved to the newly established town of Walthill and founded a hospital there.

Susan went on to be a leading citizen of Walthill, and headed a delegation to Washington, D.C. to fight against the sale of liquor in Nebraska. She was so successful in her endeavors that a covenant was placed in land sale documents of that time prohibiting the possession of liquor on any land purchased from the Omaha.

Susan died at 50, and is buried in Bancroft, Nebraska.

link below-

www.powersource.com/gallery/womansp/omaha.html

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Jean Baptiste de Rainville

Joseph Renville

Joseph Renville II

Victor (Ohiya) Renville

Jean Baptiste de Rainville: (abt.1725 - ?)
He married Marie-Francoise Haines/Hains (daughter of Joseph Haines/Hines/Ainse & Catherine Migneron) in 1750 at Notre-Dame, Quebec City, Quebec. Their children were: Marie-Francoise (b.1751), Louise-Joseph (b.1753), Joseph (1754-abt.1795) & Paul-Vincent (b.abt.1755).
Jean was trading in the Belle (Ohio) River & Michilimackinac.
Joseph Renville I (1754 - abt.1795)
He was the son of Jean Bte.Rainville & Marie-Francoise Haines/Hains, born in Quebec. Joseph married Miniyuhe, (the sister of Mdewakanton Chief Little Crow - Big Thunder), at Green Bay in 1775 [there was a Jean Bte.de Rainville (1722-1760), son of Rene de Rainville & Anne-Celeste Carpentier, who married Marie-Josephte Duteau at Sorel in 1754 - is this Jean also the father of Joseph ?]. Joseph & Miniyuhe had sons Victor (Ohiya) Renville & Joseph (Akipa) Renville (1779-1846).
Joseph was thought to have been educated in France and settled for a time at Green Bay, trading to the west. In 1779 he was near the mouth of the Minnesota River.

Joseph Renville II (abt.1779 - 1846)
He was born to Joseph & Miniyehe, at either the Kaposia village or below Mt. Trempeauleau. Joseph II married Marie (Tonkanne) Little Crow (daughter of the sister of Chief Little Crow) and their children were: Joseph III (abt.1807-1856) (m.1st. to Marie & m.2nd.to Tenosia Armatender/Ermatinger?), Antoine (abt.1810-1884) (m.1st.to Elizabeth & m.2nd.to Madeline), Angelique (b.abt.1813) (m. Hypolite Dupuis 1837/42), Agathe (b.abt.1815), Francois (b.abt.1815) (m. Marguerite Bellegarde), Madeline (b.abt.1823), Michel (1822-1899) (m. Margaret-a Wahpaton woman abt.1848), Rosalie (b.1823), Marguerite (b.abt.1825), Jean Bte. (abt.1831-1903) & Gabriel (adopted) (1818/25-1892).
He was educated in Canada, then sent for in 1795 to mourn the loss of his father. From 1795 he lived with the Gens du Large (Sioux of the Prairie). In 1805 he left Prairie du Chien with the Pike expedition up the Mississippi R. (as interpreter) to determine & purchase a site for a U.S. fort and to explore the Mississippi to its source. During the War of 1812 he served as an officer in the British Indian Dept. recruiting Native-Americans for the British cause and commanding Dakota warriors at the seige of Ft. Meige. After the war he traded for the Hudson Bay Co. at the headwaters of the Minnesota River (River St. Peters). After the union of the Hudson Bay Co. & the Northwest Fur Co. he help establish the Columbia Fur Co., in parnership with Dickson, Mackenzie, Laidlow, Lamont & Tilton, with its headquarters on Lake Traverse.
In July of 1823, Joseph joined the U.S. expedition (led by Mj.Stephen H.Long) as interpreter/guide, at Ft.Snelling. He is spoken of in William H.Keating's, "Narrative of an Expedition to the Source of St.Peter's River", "...Joseph Renville, a half-breed of the Dacota nation,...the very manner in which he performed these duties...requires that something should be stated of this man, whose influence among the Sioux appears to be very great...son of a French trader on the Mississippi,...mother being a Sioux resident at the village of the Petit Corbeaux, he was brought up amoung the Indians and deprived of all education excepting such as his powerful mind enabled him to acquire...We have met with few men that appeared to us to be gifted with a more inquiring and discerning mind or with more force and penetration..at the commencement of the late war, the British government determined to use the Indians as auxilliaries, Col.Dickson, to whom the chief direction of this force had been entrusted, sellected Renville as the man upon whom he could place most dependence: to him, therefore, was the command of the Sioux given, with the rank, pay and emoluments of a captain in the British army...to him the Americans, are, we doubt not, indebted for the comparatively few injuries done by the Sioux; he repressed their depredations and prevented them from sharing in those bloody and disgusting transactions which disgraced the conduct of the Chippewas, the Potawatomis, Miamis, Ottowas, ...".
By the time the American Fur Co. bought the CFCo. in 1827, Joseph had firmly establish himself at Lac Qui Parle, by building a stockade (Ft. Renville/Adams) and maintaining an army of warriors called Tokadantee or Prairie dogs.
Joseph N.Nicollet, explorer/scientist who addressed the U.S.Congress after his travels (1836) in the region, said of the Renville's, "...may stop a while to say, that the residence of the Renville family, for a number of years back, afforded the only retreat for travelers to be found between St.Peter (Minnesota River) and the British Posts, a distance of 700 miles. The liberal and untiring hospitality dispensed by this respectable family, the great influence exercised by it over the Indians of the country, in the maintenance of peace and the protection of travelers, should demand cesides special gratitude, some special acknowledgment of the U.S. and also from the Hudson Bay Company..."
Joseph died at Lac Qui Parle on 18 march, 1846 and was buried on a hilltop overlooking his stockade.

Victor (Ohiya) Renville: (? - 1833)
He was the the son of Joseph & Miniyehe, born at Kaposia. Victor was married to the grand daughter of Walking Buffalo (Red Wing) whose name was Winona Crawford (she was the daughter of fur trader). Their son was Gabriel (Tiwakan) (b.1825) (m. Mary Brown).
Victor was killed by the Ojibwe, near Little Falls, while leading a Dakota war party against the Ojibway in 1833. In August of 1836, Joseph N.Nicollet (from his Journal) arrived at a 8-10' cliff (1/4mi., below the rapids of Little Falls) on the Mississippi with hieroglyphics which an Ojibwe (Chagobay), who was traveling with them, interpreted them "...markings refer to is that of the death of Rainville...so and so on his way back from St.Peter found abandoned on the shore of the river the body of a Sioux he recognized as Rainville's; that he took its hair and drew these signs on the rock to tell the Sioux he only took it on the third day and also to tell them what cowards they must be for not having rescued the body of their chief for so long a time...they held dances for several days at Leech Lake when the head of hair was brought there...". Nicolet also relays "...the brother of [Joseph] Renneville, the trader of Lac qui Parle, a Sioux half-breed, was killed by a Chippewa ambushed in the brush overlooking the river..."


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link below-

users.usinternet.com/dfnels/renville.htm

[mdenney]

JOSEPH-LOUIS AINSE (also Hains or Hins


JOSEPH-LOUIS AINSE (also Hains or Hins): (1744-?)
Joseph was born in may of 1744 at Michilimackinac to Joseph Hins & Marie-Coussante Chevalier (daughter of Jean Bte.Chevalier & Marie-Frances Alavoine & also was married to Francois-Louis Cardin). Joseph-Louis married Marie-Della-Therese Bondy at St.Ignace, Michilimackina, Mich. in 1795. Joseph-Louis had at least five children: Joseph (bapt.1782 & lived at Varennes), Therese (bapt.1784), Margaret (who married John Campbell) & Ance (who was a mix-blood son, became chief at the Straits of Mackinac) & Pelagie.
In June of 1763 he was at Michilimackinac when the western tribes attacked the British fort and was dispatched to Detroit with the news of the attack. In the fall of 1768 he was in Montreal at the court martial of Mj. Rogers (of Rogers Rangers fame), who was being tried for treason. Joseph who had been an interpreter for Rogers, was testifying against Rogers. During the 1770's he took out a trade license, trading out of Michilimackinac for Pierre Fortier & Jean Orillet. By 1786 he was employed by the Indian Dept. at Michilimackinac and in August sent by Sir John Johnson & Capt. Byrne to the Upper Mississippi with presents to distribute to the Dakota & Ojibwe, inviting them to council on a peace treaty. On 24 june 1788 an Inquiry was held to answer accusations leveled at Joseph about his dealings with traders on the Upper Mississippi. A list of people questioned at the Inquiry include: Joseph Roque, James Aird, Joseph Rainville, Timothe Plumodon, Jacques Freniere, Hypolite Caselest, Michel Cadot & Gabriel Attina.

link below-

users.usinternet.com/dfnels/ainse.htm

[mdenney]

Archibald "John" Campbell: (1775-1808)
John was born in Londonderry, Muff Co., Ireland & first married Catherine Demontigny and a second marriage to a Dakota woman, who died in 1801. Their children were: John, Jeremiah, Duncan, Colin, Scott, Margaret-Pelagia (m.1st.Edward Pizanne & m.2nd.Hercules Dousman) & Nancy (1790's-1887; m.John Palmer Bourke).
Archabald had been trading since 1792 and two years later is trading out of the "Little Rapids" with the Wahpetons. From 1800-06 he is a trader for the Machinac Co. but became an independent trader in 1806. In December of 1807 he is appointed the U.S. Indian Sub-Agent at Prairie du Chien, through the recommendation of Gov.Meriwether Lewis and the next year (summer 1808) he was killed in a duel with trader Redford Crawford, Campbell's former trading associate, Robert Dickson acting as Redford's second.
John Campbell: (abt.1790-?)
He was the son of Archibald John Campbell & Catherine de Montigny & married Marguerite Ainse (daughter of Joseph Ainse & Marie-Therese Bondy). Their children were: John (b.abt.1830; m.Sophie Phalen), Jeremiah (b.abt.1834),
Duncan, Nancy & David (b.abt.1839).

Colin Campbell:
He was the son of Archibald John Campbell & a Dakota woman and married a Dakota woman. Colin was a young Lieutenant in British militia during the War of 1812 when Mj.Zachary Taylor brought an American force north from St.Louis in an attempt to retake Prairie du Chien from British & Dakota warrior hands. Capt.Duncan Graham who lead the defense of the trading center, praised Colin, Lt.Michael Brisbois & Sergeant James Keating for their efforts in Taylor's failed effort. In September of 1820 Colin was sent to the Sisseton near the Blue Earth River to bring in the murders of two of Manuel Lisa's men. He brought back to recently built Fort Snelling a Sisseton War Chief who claimed responsibility for the deaths. In 1821 & 1823 Colin was interpreting at councils held by Taliaferro at Ft.Snelling between the Dakota & visiting Ojibwe. By 1855 he is near the mouth of the Platte River.

Duncan Campbell: (bef.1802-?)
He was the son of Archibald John Campbell & a Dakota woman and married a Dakota woman (Therese). His children were: Nancy (b.1816/20; m.1st.Alfred Hudson & 2nd.Louis Larocque), Duncan II (b.1816/17; m.Margaret), Mary (b.abt.1818-1844; m.Charles Sweet), Jenny (b.1823/24; m.Oliver Cratte), William (b.1823/25-1855); George (b.1827/32-bef.1855; m.Dakota woman), Madaline (b.abt.1833; m.Philo Stone), Therese (b.1833/35-1855) & Thomas (b.1836/37-1855). Duncan was wintering on the Mississippi River for Michel Cadotte in the 1809-10 season, but the next year trading above Prairie du Chien for James Lockwood (American Fur Co.). In the early 1820's he was trading on the Minnesota River and acting as interpreter for Taliaferro but by 1826 is found trading at Ft.Barbour at the St.Croix Falls. In 1837 he was part of a delegation that accompanied the Dakota to Washington D.C., other interpreters included Scott Campbell, Augustin Rocque, Peter Quinn & Alexander Faribault. Ducan was back in 1838 where the Iowa Territory Census taker found him living in Clayton Co., north of the Root River.

Scott Campbell: (1790's-1851)
He was the son of Archibald John Campbell & a Dakota woman and married Margaret Menager. Their children were: Henriette S. (b.1824; m.Benjamin Aitken Dyomme), Scott II (b.abt.1828-1870), Hypolite S.(b.abt.1828), Joseph S.(b.1827/36-1869; m.Mary Ann), John S. (1834-1865; m.Marguerite Lize), Margaret (b.1838; m.Joseph Labathe in 1854), Baptiste S.(b.1838); Marie (b.abt.1839) & Mathias S.
As a boy, Scott was taken back east by Meriwether Lewis (of the Lewis & Clark expedition) on his return from his western journey. When Lewis died in 1809 under mysterious circumstances he returned to family in the Upper Mississippi. He was licensed to trade above Prairie du Chien for James Lockwood in the 1819-20 season. In 1834 he was Indian agent Taliaferro's Dakota interpreter at Fort Snelling, where he assisted Lt.Edmund A.Ogden in setting the Dakota language on paper. Missionary, Samuel W.Pond credits Scott for his part in the manuscript that Ogden passed on to Samuel & his brother Gideon Pond which was helpful in their work in developing a Dakota dictionary that was finished & published though the efforts of fellow missionary, Stephen R. Riggs. In 1837, Scott was living at the St.Peters settlement, near the mouth of the Minnesota River, going to Washington D.C. as the Dakota interpreter for a treaty. In 1843 he bought a claim from Denis Cherrier for $300. which he sold to William Hartshorn in 1848. Pond wrote of Scott, "Mr.Campbell was, in his general deportment, very mild, quiet and gentlemanly, always ready to smoke or chat with white men or Indians, carefully avoiding all harsh language and disagreeable topics; but he had a fiery temper which sometimes broke through the smooth external covering in such ebullitions of passion as we might expect from one in whom were mingled the Scotch and Dakota blood. He was skillful as an interpreter, and perhaps more skillful as a mis-interpreter...He told what he thought the speaker should have said rather that what he did say, and frequently a good understanding seemed to have been restored, simply because there had been no understanding at all."


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[mdenney]

Red Thunder (Wackhawendutah or Tonnerre Rouge):
There are many more questions about the life, family & history surrounding this individual than answers. The info I managed to gather on this individual seems to indicate him as one of the most influential Dakota (Nakota) Chiefs [not only at the village-band-tribal level (Yankton and/or Sisseton) but of the Dakota-Nakota-Lakota Nation level of influence]. I have explored many European sources but am lacking in oral tradition sources and I'm sending out a call for help from any of you folks out there that can muster up some additional info. Anyway here's what I have - please let me know if there are disagreements out there about any of the info
There appears to have been at least two Chiefs known as Red Thunder. Red Thunder I was born 1740-41 & died in 1822. he was probably the Red Thunder that was noted as visiting the new fort (Ft.Snelling) at the head of the St.Peter's River (Minnesota River) in jun.1821, estimated as 80 years old. This is probably the same Red Thunder that Zebulon Montgomery Pike listed on his "Abstract of the Nations of Indians on the Mississippi..." as Wuckiew Nutch - Tonnerre Rouge - Red Thunder with the remark "first chief of all the Sioux". (Pike defines the divisions of the "Sioux" as Minowa Kantong, Washpetong, Sissitons, Yanktons & Tetons - with Red Thunder as a Sissiton). Pike met Red Thunder on 21 apr.1806, "Upon my return I was sent for by Red Thunder, chief of the Yanctongs, the most savage band of the Sioux. He was prepared with the most elegant pipes and robes I ever saw, and shortly declared, That white blood had never been shed in the village of the Yanctongs, even when rum was permitted; that Mr.Murdoch Cameron arrived at his village last autumn; that he invited him to eat, gave him corn as a bird; that Cameron informed him of the prohibition of rum, and was the only person who afterward sold it in the village." ["The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike"; edited by Elliott Coues]

Excerpts from a "Personal Narrative of Capt.Thomas G.Anderson" from the "Collection of the State Hist.Soc.of Wisc." [vol.IX] - (1808-1811 wintering on Minnesota River); "Red Thunder or Wack-haw-en-du-tah was on of the most universally respected, chiefs among all the numerous Sioux bands....An Ottawa Indian, from L. Mich.,had, by some means, wandered away from his own country, and joined Red Thunder's band, where he received the kindest hospitality; but his tribe, in Mich., were at war with the Oma-haw Indians on the Missouri.......two hundred lodges each of Sioux and Omahaws encamped on the great plains.....a party was immediately sent to bring the Ottawa, dead or alive......(Red Thunder) said, "Since you will not permit me to keep the Ottawa, you shall not kill him, but I will," and shot him, the same ball accidently killing a young Omahaw......in order to avert the impending outbreak, early the next morning the Sioux chief mounted his horse, and rode alone to the Omahaw camp, singing his death song, and with his knife, as he rode among their lodges, cut pieces of flesh from his thighs, and throwing them to the dogs, saying: "My friends, I fed my dogs with your flesh yesterday, and am now come to feast your dogs on my poor flesh, in hopes that we may continue brethren." Red Thunder.......his wounds dressed; and in time, he was loaded with presents and sent home,....."
Red Thunder I, was probably the Red Thunder with Col. Robert Dickson at the siege of Ft.Meigs in 1813 and also probably the father-in-law of Robert Dickson (Mascotapah or Red Haired Man) whose wife was Helen Totowin (b.abt.1781 near Big Stone Lake). She was referred to as the sister of Red Thunder/Wekinyanduta, Chief of the Cut-Head band of Yankton. (reference to her father's name as Wanoti - head Yankton Chief). Robert Dickson was the British trader that Pike met on his expedition up the Mississippi River who at that time had both Ojibwe territory posts & Dakota territory posts and no doubt supplied Pike with some of his tribal information.


Red Thunder II was born about 1770 in the area of Big Stone Lake (Minnesota or North Dakota) & probably died before 1825.

Wannata/Charger in 1822 became Chief of the Yankton and/or the Sisseton on the west shore of Lac Traverse upon the death of Red Thunder [he was said to have been related to Gabriel Renville & a cousin to Tatankamanazin (Standing Buffalo)]. He may have been a son of Red Thunder II and was born about 1795.


...updated 3-6-99 - more to come later...

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