SITTING BULL

The great Sioux chief Sitting Bull was born in 1831 on the Grand River in South Dakota.

Legend has it that after a buffalo hunt him and some young boys where pretending to "hunt" with some of the buffalo calves when a calf turned on him violently. Sitting Bull grabbed the calf by the ears and forced him into a sitting postion, thus the name Sitting Bull.

In 1876 he was victorous in the battle at Little Bighorn, and defeated General Custard's Army. However, this attack was in violation of the Ft. Laramie treaty set forth in 1868. Sitting Bull and his followers fled to Cananda, but were forced by famine to surrender after 4 years. He was held as a prisoner of war until 1885.

After being released in 1885, Sitting Bull joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for a tour in Europe. It is rumored that he was allowed to join the show to keep him away from the reservation.

Upon his return, the government wanted to break up tribal land and Sitting Bull encourged the Indians to refuse to sell the land. The anti-white Ghost Dance religion was becoming popular among the Native Americans. In 1890, Sitting Bull allowed his people to join the religion and was arrested by Indian police. When warriors tried to rescue Sitting Bull, he was shot.

His remains are buried near Mobridge, South Dakota. He was 59.