Sitting Bull, a chief, was often erroneously called a medicine man. He was influential over all the Lakota as a war Chief, prophet and orator who was able to sway even the white men with his eloquence.
Prior to the battle of the Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull participated in the Sun Dance and fell into a trance in which he had a vision of soldiers falling from the sky as a gift from the creator. His vision was fulfilled in the Custer battle.
After the Little Big Horn victory, Sitting Bull led his band into the Yellow Stone country to hunt. He was through fighting and wanted to be left alone. Later, after being constantly hounded by the U.S. Army, he fled to Canada. After four hungry years in the "grandmother's" land, he returned to the United States on July 19, 1881.
Sitting Bull was forced to return to the United States when government agent's travelled to Canada to convince him to return to the United States with them. Canadian officials assisted in the convincement of Sitting Bull to return. Upon his return, he was taken to Fort Union in Montana under arrest and eventually was forced to surrender.
Sitting Bull was then taken prisoner and confined at Fort Randall in South Dakota and later sent to the Standing Rock Reservation. His home became a haven for orphaned children and again he desired only to be left alone. However, officials believed that Sitting Bull's popularity with the frequent visits of many Sioux to his home hampered the progress of civilization. When Buffalo Bill Cody requested the Indian bureau's permission for Sitting Bull to join his Wild West Show, it was readily given to remove the medicine man and his troublesome influence. Sitting Bull resisted signing treaties with the government because he didn't trust them and encouraged other Tribal Leaders to do the same.
The United States Government and Major McLaughlin, then Agent of Standing Rock were relieved of Sitting Bull's leaving with the Wild West show. While on the show Sitting Bull was often booed by the crowd for his involvement at Little Big Horn.
On his return to the reservation, Sitting Bull supported the Ghost Dance movement and permitted the dance to be done at his Standing Rock home. His involvement in the new religion alarmed agency personnel who feared Sitting Bull would lead an uprising.
On December 15, 1890 Major McLaughlin order the arrest of Sitting Bull, a troop of Indian police commanded by Lieutenant Bull Head was sent to arrest Sitting Bull. He resisted the arrest and his followers protested which was followed by gun shot and in the end Sitting Bull and his followers were killed.
Sitting Bull's death was a political assassination by the United States government, insisted the head of the Nebraska National Guard, General Leonard Colby.
After their leaders death, many of Sitting Bull's followers fled to the Cheyenne River Reservation to seek refuge with Chief Big Foot. Many of them were massacred at Wounded Knee, South Dakota some eleven days later.
( This text was written in the Standing Rock College catalogue, Fort Yates, North Dakota and Harold Iron Shield's research on Sitting Bull.)
