Sitting Bull 1831 – 1890

Biography

Sitting Bull was born near the Grand River in what is now South Dakota, a Hunkpapa Lakota who became a holy man, warrior, and chief of his people. He refused to sign treaties selling Lakota land, and in 1876, after a Sun Dance vision of soldiers falling from the sky, he helped lead the Lakota and Cheyenne to victory over Lieutenant Colonel George Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. After years in exile in Canada, he surrendered in 1881 and toured briefly with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, drawing crowds fascinated by the man who had defeated Custer. He returned to the Standing Rock Reservation, where he opposed the sale of Lakota land and supported the Ghost Dance movement. He was killed there by Indian agency police on December 15, 1890.