 Sitting
Bull, a Sioux, was born in 1831 in the region of Grand River of the
Indian territory (now South Dakota). As a young boy, he was already
showing promise as a leader. Therefore, believing the spirit was driving
him, Sitting Bull became chief of the Sioux tribe. Little did he know
that he would later guide this troupe through one of its most well-known
confrontations with the American army, the Battle of the Little Big
Horn.
On August 23, 1932, Mr. Z. M.
Hamilton, a journalist for the "Leader Post" newspaper of
Regina, Saskatchewan, referred to the Battle of Little Big Horn as
"a massacre". This term was very incorrect. The Sioux were
defending their territory, liberty, homes, and their own lives. Had they
not been of Indian descent, we would have most likely called them heros.
Their land was given to them in a treaty made with the American
Government. They were situated by the frontiers of South Dakota and
Wyoming. In the early 1870's, gold was discovered there and, thus, the
Indian territory was invaded by prospectors searching for treasures.
These "gold-diggers" established many villages around their
mines and some defied the laws of the land, stealing and killing both
Indians and white people in their crusade for wealth.
The affairs of the Sioux rested
in the hands of a few Washington politicians, one of whom described the
tribe as "A band of the worst criminals ever". Sitting Bull,
the Sioux doctor, and his followers argued with the Government. Grant,
one of the best soldiers but equally one of the worst politicians to
ever hold the power to decide the future of a nation, was President at
that time. He didn't do anything. The influence of the "Indian
Circle" never reached him. Thus, the Sioux were obligated to
exchange the Indian reserve and fertile land of their forefathers for
very poor and dry land further west. The Sioux refused and were
considered law breakers.
Pursued by the American army
for having defied the authority of the Government, the Sioux tribe
occupied the important areas of the hills of Montana. During the summer
of 1876, the army surrounded them by three sides. In June, General
Custer, leading the 7th Cavalry, encountered a large Indian camp.
Ordering many of his soldiers to position themselves near the Indians,
he and his 300 men began a direct attack. To their surprise, Sitting
Bull and his tribe retaliated with great force and not one of Custer's
soldiers survived to recount the adventure.
Knowing strongly that the
Indians would be punished severely for their victory if they went south
to the United States, Sitting Bull reassembled his people and began the
long trip to Canada and to protection.
The first of the Sioux tribe
arrived in Canada in November of 1876. A dozen scouts from "Little
Knife" followed them until they arrived at Jean-Louis Légaré's
fur trading post in Wood Mountain. They wanted to be able to sleep in
peace. Légaré, realizing the tribe's poverty, invited the Sioux to
trade with him. After accepting the merchandise and the thirty dollars
that Légaré offered to them to keep them in good spirits, they left.
The roads were free, they reported. The next day, seventy Indian groups
surrounded Légaré's store.
Following the arrival of the
Sioux in Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police learned of Custer's
bloody defeat. Major Walsh apprehended Sitting Bull and his tribe with a
detachment of 25 men on November 24, 1876. With the help of an
interpretator, Walsh explained that Canada was not to be used as a
departing point for raids on the United States. A new team of Mounted
Police was deployed to Wood Mountain to "maintain the right"
amidst the presence of the Sioux.
Sitting Bull and most of his
tribe explored the Canadian frontier in May of 1877. They followed the
Frenchman river between Val Marie and where Mankota is today. Zachary
and Marie Hamilton, in their book, "These are the Prairies",
wrote that Sitting Bull "was a man full of good sense, a man of
rules." Before establishing himself, he warned the Cypress Hills
Mounted Police, which was 200 miles away, about his arrival in Canada
and requested a meeting with them. Irvine, two officers, and a few
agents went to Wood Mountain where they talked with the Sioux chief.
Sitting Bull produced a gold
medal and said: "My Grandfather received this medal in recognition
of his battle for George III during the
revolution. Now in this odd time, I direct my people here to reclaim a
sanctuary of my Grandfather." Irvine advised him that he and his
tribe were welcome in Canada, but, like other citizens, if they did not
obey the laws of her Majesty, the Mounted Police would deal with them.
In "These are the
Prairies", the Hamiltons explain that "since his first day in
Canada, Sitting Bull was attracted to Légaré and trusted him. The
Sioux chief desired apparently to obey the Canadian law, but he never
compromised without first consulting the Canadian merchant."
During the weeks and months
that followed, the state of the Sioux as well as that of the Canadian
Indian and Métis people was deteriorating due to declining bison
populations and food shortages. Missionaries and officers of the
American army offered Sitting Bull, in the name of the American
Government, forgiveness if they returned to the United States.
Persistent, Sitting Bull refused, although many of his people left for
the United States in 1879. According to Zachary and Marie Hamilton,
"Sitting Bull did all he could do until his people could be
recognized as Canadians and thus be allowed reserves." He firmly
noted that they had never bowed to the American Government and that
their fidelity and love was still with England, who had given them a
sanctuary.
In the early fall of 1881,
Sitting Bull, accompanied by a few followers, went to the post of
Hudson's Bay at Fort Qu'Appelle and visited the agent of the Indians,
Colonel Allen MacDonald, in search of food. The company told the Sioux
that it needed all merchandise on hand, as it was already having
difficulty meeting the demands of its local Indian population.
While returning to Wood
Mountain, the Sioux learned that during the preceding fall, Father
Hugonard had ordered a load of flour, which had been transported on the
Assiniboine river to Fort Ellice.
The Sioux, under the order of
Sitting Bull, found Father Hugonard to claim themselves some of that
flour. After a few tender moments, Father Hugonard persuaded Sitting
Bull and his followers to exchange some tools for the flour. Sitting
Bull, the first to trade, offered him a beautiful navajo cover and said,
"How much will this buy?"
Colonel MacLeod of the Mounted
Police was sent on behalf of the Canadian Government to find a means of
making the American proposition more attractive and acceptable to
Sitting Bull. He invited the chief to a meeting, where he asked Sitting
Bull to name a man whom he trusted to negotiate his current situation
with the Canadian and American governments. Sitting Bull unhesitatingly
nominated his merchant friend, Légaré.
Colonel MacLeod recounted the
events of the Battle of Little Big Horn to Légaré. Légaré distorted
this information while negotiating with government officials at Fort
Buford in order to satisfy the sincerity of the American offer. On his
return, he invited Sitting Bull to a banquet where he suggested that the
chief return to the United States.
The Hamiltons state that
"Sitting Bull kept his word, and during the summer of 1881, him and
his people, accompanied by Légaré and a few bison hunters, went to
Fort Buford where Sitting Bull handed himself over to the officer in
charge."
Sitting Bull and his tribe
settled on the reserve that had been set aside for them at Fort Buford.
The Sioux lived there until the end of the decade, when a messenger
reported that, as medicine man, Sitting Bull was trying to raise his
people. Concerned, the American Government sent an Indian police officer
to stop Sitting Bull. When the Sioux chief refused, the officer shot him
on December 15, 1890. A few days later, on December 28, many Sioux men,
women and children died at the hands of American soldiers during the
Battle of Wounded Knee. The American army had finally avenged the death
of General Custer and his regiment. |
