Sitting Bull was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him, at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.
41 Facts About Sitting Bull
2.
Sitting Bull's leadership inspired his people to a major victory.
3.
Sitting Bull refused to surrender, and in May 1877, he led his band north to Wood Mountain, North-West Territories.
4.
Sitting Bull remained there until 1881, when he and most of his band returned to US territory and surrendered to US forces.
5.
Sitting Bull's body was taken to nearby Fort Yates for burial.
6.
Sitting Bull was born on land later included in the Dakota Territory.
7.
In 2007, Sitting Bull's great-grandson asserted from family oral tradition that Sitting Bull was born along the Yellowstone River, south of present-day Miles City, Montana.
8.
Sitting Bull displayed bravery by riding forward and counting coup on one of the surprised Crow, which was witnessed by the other mounted Lakota.
9.
At this ceremony before the entire band, Sitting Bull's father presented his son with an eagle feather to wear in his hair, a warrior's horse and a hardened buffalo hide shield to mark his son's passage into manhood as a Lakota warrior.
10.
When he led an attack, Sitting Bull was shot in the left hip by a soldier.
11.
In support of Red Cloud, Sitting Bull led numerous war parties against Fort Berthold, Fort Stevenson and Fort Buford and their environs from 1865 through 1868.
12.
Sitting Bull took an active role in encouraging this "unity camp".
13.
Sitting Bull sent scouts to the reservations to recruit warriors and told the Hunkpapa to share supplies with those Native Americans who joined them.
14.
Sitting Bull's leadership had attracted warriors and families, creating an extensive village estimated at more than 10,000 people.
15.
Sitting Bull did not take a direct military role in the ensuing battle; instead, he acted as a spiritual leader.
16.
Sitting Bull's followers, led into battle by Crazy Horse, counterattacked and ultimately defeated Custer while surrounding and laying siege to the other two battalions led by Reno and Benteen.
17.
Sitting Bull refused to do so and in May 1877 led his band across the border into the North-West Territories, Canada.
18.
Sitting Bull remained in exile for four years near Wood Mountain, refusing a pardon and the chance to return.
19.
When crossing the border into Canadian territory, Sitting Bull was met by the Mounties of the region.
20.
Sitting Bull wished to make peace with the Blackfeet Nation and Crowfoot.
21.
Sitting Bull was so impressed by Crowfoot that he named one of his sons after him.
22.
Sitting Bull had his young son Crow Foot surrender his Winchester lever-action carbine to major David H Brotherton, commanding officer of Fort Buford.
23.
Sitting Bull said to Brotherton, "I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle".
24.
In 1883, The New York Times reported that Sitting Bull had been baptized into the Catholic Church.
25.
Sitting Bull was so impressed with Oakley's skills with firearms that he offered $65 for a photographer to take a photo of the two together.
26.
Oakley stated that Sitting Bull made a "great pet" of her.
27.
Sitting Bull felt that she was "gifted" by supernatural means in order to shoot so accurately with both hands.
28.
In 1885, Sitting Bull was allowed to leave the reservation to go Wild Westing with Buffalo Bill Cody's Buffalo Bill's Wild West.
29.
Sitting Bull earned about $50 a week for riding once around the arena, where he was a popular attraction.
30.
Historians have reported that Sitting Bull gave speeches about his desire for education for the young, and reconciling relations between the Sioux and whites.
31.
The historian Edward Lazarus wrote that Sitting Bull reportedly cursed his audience in Lakota in 1884, during an opening address celebrating the completion of the Northern Pacific Railway.
32.
Sitting Bull declared in Lakota, 'I hate all White people.
33.
Sitting Bull stayed with the show for four months before returning home.
34.
Sitting Bull earned a small fortune by charging for his autograph and picture, although he often gave his money away to the homeless and beggars.
35.
Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency after working in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
36.
Sitting Bull joined him, together with her young son Christy, at his compound on the Grand River, sharing with him and his family home and hearth.
37.
Sitting Bull intended to have the police officers force Sitting Bull to mount a horse immediately after the arrest.
38.
When Sitting Bull refused to comply, the police used force on him.
39.
Sitting Bull's body was taken to Fort Yates, where it was placed in a coffin and buried.
40.
In 1953, Lakota family members exhumed what they believed to be Sitting Bull's remains, transporting them for reinterment near Mobridge, South Dakota, his birthplace.
41.
Sitting Bull was the subject of, or a featured character in, several Hollywood motion pictures and documentaries, which have reflected changing ideas about him and Lakota culture in relation to the United States.