1876 The Battle of the Little Big Horn Participants: Native Americans
"I called to my men, "This is a good day to die: follow me." We massed our men, and that no man should fall back, every man whipped another man's horse and we rushed right upon them. As we rushed upon them the white warriors dismounted to fire, but they did very poor shooting. They held their horses reins on one arm while they were shooting, but their horses were so frightened that they pulled the men all around, and a great many of their shots went up in the air and did us no harm." Low Dog, Minneconjou, 1881
American Horse
American Horse (Wasico Tasunke)
Oglala Lakota leader of the Bear People band son of Sitting Bear
his brother also fought in the battle
later a prominent chief at Pine Ridge Reservation in 1891
he led a successful delegation to Washington which resulted in better administration of Indian affairs and a more nearly adequate living ration
he rode in the 1905 inaugural parade at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt
(not the elder chief American horse who was killed at Slim Buttes in 1876)
Big Elk (Un-pan Tan-ka)
Oglala Lakota
chief; among a small group of warriors who had advanced nearest Custer's final position
Black Wasichu Warrior; brother of Chase-in-the-Morning, and cousin of Black Elkshot in the Custer fight while riding warrior style on the side of his horse died in camp on the night of June 27th
Bobtail Horse
Northern Cheyenne a prominent Elkhorn Scraper Society warrior
one of the first three Cheyenne to cross the river to meet Custer
among the first ten Indians to open fire on Custer's troops
he caught 2 of the grey-horse company's mounts that had stampeded and led them back to camp
Brave Wolf
Northern Cheyenne
fighting chief and contrary
was in both the Reno and Custer fights
among the few Cheyenne present during early fighting with Reno's skirmish line and helped drive them to the bluffs
April 1877 surrendered with Two Moon's band
became the 2nd Cheyenne to enlist as a scout with General Miles
Buffalo Calf Road Woman (Muts i mi u na)
Northern Cheyenne
June 17 1876 she rescued her brother, Chief Comes in Sight, in Crook's fight on the Rosebud, (the Cheyenne named this battle "Where the girl saved her brother
fought beside her husband Black Coyote in the Custer fight 8 days later and afterward was named Brave Woman
Comes in Sight
Northern Cheyenne he was one of 5 warriors who charged in among the soldiers early in the Custer fight, stampeding the troopers horses
Crazy Horse (Tashunca-uitco) Oglala Lakota Given the name Curly as a boy
Witnessed the Grattan Massacre 1854 and Harneys destruction of the village at Ash Hollow near Bluewater Creek 1855.
He refused to register at any agency or sign a treaty
Excelled as a leader in the war over the Bozeman Trail 1866-8 (the so called Red Clouds War)
Led the warriors to victory over Crook at the Battle of the Rosebud June17 1875 when Crook managed a strategic withdrawal owing to the valour of Arikara and Crow auxiliaries covering the troops retreat.
he prevented Custer's troops from gaining the hilltop in their retreat
is thought to have led one of the closing charges on Custer at Last Stand Hill
he chased down & killed one of the last troopers to die, one-half mile east of the Custer battlefield.
After about a month of celebration he resumed hostilities against gold prospectors in the Black Hills and was first pursued by Crook and then by Nelson Miles.
1877 guaranteed safe conduct to visit his dying wife at Fort Robinson, Nebraska. His only child a daughter, had recently died of the same disease. This was merely a trick in order to capture him and send him to exile in Florida
September 6, 1877 while under U.S. Army protection he was stabbed in the back by an American soldier while pinned from behind by a tribal policeman, Little Big Man.
Crow Dog
Brulι Lakota in the Custer fight, he caught 3 soldier horses and hurried them to his lodge across the river
by the time he returned Custer & his men were already dead
Crow King
Crow King Hunkpapa Lakota chief of 80 band of warriors
led charges against Reno's troops in the valley
then joined the Custer fight after Reno reached the bluffs
two of his brothers were killed in the battle
Gall
Gall( Pizi ) Hunkpapa Lakota 1865survived an arrest attempt at Fort Berthold when he was left for dead by the army after being bayoneted.
was among the Cheyenne looking after horses when Reno attacked
his 2 wives and 3 children were killed by Arikara scouts at the beginning of Reno's attack on the village; Gall said: "It made my heart bad. After that I killed all my enemies with the hatchet."
Said that the attack happened too quickly or they would have fled
led a frontal attack on Custer's troops while Crazy Horse's warriors struck Custer's flank and rear
Following the Custer fight, Gall fled with Sitting Bull into Canada, but a quarrel between them caused Gall to bring his band back across the border late in 1880.
January 3, 1881.finally surrendered at Poplar Creek, Montana
1889 served as a judge of the Court of Indian Offenses at Standing Rock Reservation in, and worked as a farmer
1894 died at Oak Creek near Standing Rock Agency
Kicking Bear
Kicking Bear
Hunkpapa Lakota full brother of Flying Hawk, killed some of Reno's soldiers as they fled across the river
1890 prophet of the Ghost Dance religion at the Pine Ridge Reservation
Little Big Man
Little Big Man Oglala Lakota Little Big Man was a shirt-wearer (war leader)in Crazy Horses's band. Just like the great leader Crazy Horse, Little Big Man was known for his sense of drama. In September 1875, during negotiations at Red Cloud Agency regarding the future ownership of the Black Hills, he led a mock charge at the white commissioners by a large group of warriors. Firing their guns and shouting ritual war chants, they badly scared everyone but did no physical damage.
Low Dog
Low Dog
Minneconju fought against Reno and Custer
his full brother was killed in the battle
"I called to my men: "this is a good day to die, follow me"
Rain in the Face
Rain in the Face (Iromagaja) Hunkpapa Lakota "His face is like a storm"
1866 took part in the Fetterman Fight
was badly wounded in the Custer battle and walked with a limp the rest of his life. After the battle, some reports indicated that Rain-In-The-Face had killed Custer, although historian Stanley Vestal suggested that White Bull, not Rain-In-The-Face, took Custer's life.
joined Sitting Bull's exiles in Canada until 1880 when he surrendered to General Nelson Miles at Fort Keough, Montana.
Briefly toured with Buffalo Bills Wild West.
died at Standing Rock 1905
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull (Tatanka-Iyotanka) Hunkpapa Lakota as a young man, a leader of the Strong Heart warrior society
later, a distinguished member of the Silent Eaters, a group concerned with tribal welfare. fought U.S. troops at the Battle of Killdeer Mountain
1865 he led a siege against the newly established Fort Rice in present-day North Dakota.
c. 1868 became head chief of the Lakota nation
Sitting Bull's courage was legendary. Once, in 1872, during a battle with soldiers protecting railroad workers on the Yellowstone River, Sitting Bull led four other warriors out between the lines, sat calmly sharing a pipe with them as bullets buzzed around, carefully reamed the pipe out when they were finished, and then casually walked away.
Shortly before the Battle of the Little Big Horn led his people in the Sun Dance Ritual. During this ceremony, Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw soldiers falling into the Lakota camp like grasshoppers falling from the sky. The lodge was still standing when Custer was trailing the native Americans. It was burned by Arikara scouts.
May 1877 he led his band across the border into Canada, beyond the reach of the U.S. Army
dismissed General Terrys offer him of a pardon in exchange for settling on a reservation
Was in the village during the Battle of the Little Big Horn, protecting the families of the younger warriors who fought in the battle.
After the Battle of the Little Big Horn parlayed with Nelson Miles in October, rejected the idea of surrender and led those of his people who did not surrender into Canada.
July 19, 1881, starving, he surrendered at Fort Buford in Montana
sent to Standing Rock Reservation, and on down the Missouri River to Fort Randall, where he and his followers were held for nearly two years as prisoners of war
May 10, 1883, Sitting Bull rejoined his tribe at Standing Rock.
1885 was allowed to leave the reservation to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West, earning $50 a week for riding once around the arena, in addition to whatever he could charge for his autograph and picture
After only four months returned to Standing Rock, Sitting Bull lived in a cabin on the Grand River
Autumn 1890, the authorities feared that Sitting Bull, as a major spiritual leader, would join the Ghost Dancers so they sent 43 Lakota policemen to bring him in. Before dawn on December 15, 1890, the policemen burst into Sitting Bull's cabin and dragged him outside, where his followers were gathering to protect him. In the gunfight that followed, one of the Lakota policemen put a bullet through Sitting Bull's head.
buried at Fort Yates in North Dakota
1953 his remains were moved to Mobridge, South Dakota, where a granite shaft marks his grave.
Spotted Tail
Spotted Tail (Sinte Galeska) Brulι Lakota first known as Jumping Buffalo his adult name derived from a striped raccoon pelt that was given him by a trapper.
Shirt wearer or War leader, took part in the Grattan incident 1854 and action against Harney at Ash Hollow near Bluewater Creek 1855.
1865 refused to sign a treaty with the United States but did sign the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty
1871, served as guide on a buffalo hunt with the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia
1875 Spotted Tail played a central role in negotiations with government officials in which all offers to buy the Black Hills were refused
following the Custer battle he maintained a police force to keep whiskey merchants off the reservation
accused by Red Cloud of pocketing the proceeds from a sale of tribal land
August 5, 1881shot to death by Crow Dog
Two Moons
Two Moons(Ishi'eyo Nissi) Northern Cheyenne War Leader whose village was destroyed by troops led by Colonel Joseph Reynolds in March 1876, although the northern Cheyenne pony herd was regained by a daring night attack on the bivouacked troops, much to Crooks disgust. (Reynolds was court martialled). Afterwards they wandered for three days with little food or clothing, enduring sub Zero temperatures during the night. They were taken in by the Oglala Lakota and Two Moons warriors joined them against Crook.
After the battle with Custer, General Nelson A. Miles convinced Two Moons to surrender.
in 1898, his account of the battle appeared in McClure's magazine.
Wooden Leg (Kummonk'Quiviokta) Northern Cheyenne Wooden Leg related his memories to Thomas B. Marquis, who published them in 'A warrior who fought Custer' in 1931 Wooden Leg (Kum-mok-quiv-vi-ok-ta)
Wooden Legs name would be better translated as The man who walks as if his legs are made of wood the derivation being that he could walk vast distances without his legs tiring.
menber of Elkhorn Scrapers warrior society
one of 5 young Cheyenne men on first nightwatch June 25-26
aged 18 fought Reno's and Custer's troops
he counted coup on a soldier and wrenched the rifle from his back, in the hand to hand fighting on Reno's retreat to the bluffs
shot one of the Reno water party on June 26
his brother Yellow Hair also fought in the battle
Surrendered in 1877 at Fort Robinson with Crazy horse,s Oglala but sent with the other Northern Cheyenne to Indian territory (later Oklahoma).
Did not join Dull Knife and Little Wolf in the escape from Darlington agency in 1878
1889 scout at Fort Keogh, and a tribal judge on the reservation
later called Richard Woodenlegs: his grandson John Woodenlegs, was the only Indian member of President Johnson's National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty 1967
