A Good Day To Die

�One does not sell the earth on which the people walk�
In 1868, in the weeks following the burning of the Bozeman forts, the
victorious Indians met white delegates at Laramie. But many Indians
passed on the chance for peace. Crazy Horse of the Oglala Sioux (who had
been instrumental in Red Cloud�s victories) refused to attend and so too did
Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa branch of the Sioux. Instead, as Indians who
epitomised the spirit of freedom amongst their people (and for their bravery), they
were bestowed with the honour of chieftainship of their respective bands. From this
point these two men - demonstrating power, charisma
and cunning - were the Sioux Nation�s best chance of defeating the whitemen. They
also planned and executed the most famous victory against the
army during the entire Indian Wars and robbed America of a national hero.
America would never forgive them.
Sitting Bull
Probably the most famous Indian leader of all was Sitting Bull - chief,
prophet and mystic of the Hunkpapa Sioux. The Hunkpapa were one of
seven tribes that made up the Lakota or Teton Sioux, who lived in the west
of Dakota. The eastern branch was the Santee Sioux, who had been the perpetrators
of the Minnesota Massacre in 1862. The other six branches of the
Lakota were the Miniconjou, the Brul�, the Sans Arc, the Oohenonpa, the
Oglala and the Sihasapa. Each band�s name meant something different.
Hunkpapa meant �Those Who Camp By The Entrance� (i.e. the entrance to
the camp). Sitting Bull was born in 1831 (some sources say 1834) and was
originally named �Slow.� During a raid on their enemies the Crows, Slow
counted coup in the melee and thereafter his father Returns Again renamed
him Tananka Iyotake or Sitting Bull Buffalo (shortened to Sitting Bull). As
he rose to prominence among the tribe he became well known as a peacemaker and
visionary, but also as a fearsome fighter. Although he fought
against the whites throughout the 1860�s, he also led raids on their warlike
neighbours, especially the Crows. But it was the arrival of the white man
that assured Sitting Bull a place in history. In one celebrated incident in
1872, Sitting Bull proved to his compatriots that he was almost invincible.
It was during the railway-surveying mission on the Yellowstone, when Sitting Bull
was involved in a skirmish with the army. While a large party of
Sioux attacked a group of soldiers escorting the surveyors, Sitting Bull sat
down during the action and smoked a pipe, completely oblivious to the hail51
of bullets. Was it an act of bravery, a reckless gesture of defiance or a rather
graphic (and extremely dangerous) way of advocating peace? Whatever, it
was good medicine for the Sioux, who saw him as a strong leader in their
forthcoming struggle with the whites.