Sitting Bull and General Custer

Many American children have played "Cowboys & Indians." Usually the "Cowboys" were the good guys, and the "Indians" were the bad guys. A better name for the game might have been "Cavalry & Native Americans," and historically speaking, the "Indians," or Native Americans, were not bad at all. They were simply trying to preserve their culture and keep their lands from being stolen.

The events of the 1800s resulted from Anglo-American expansion across North America. Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man and chief in the Dakota Territory, which is now North and South Dakota. Anglo-Americans, or white men, were moving further and further west into Sioux territory and meeting with resistance from the Sioux people. In the mid-1870s, the Northern Pacific Railway attempted to build a railroad directly through Sioux territory, and the Sioux resisted.

Shortly afterward, Civil War vetaran Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills to scout for gold and a place to establish an Army fort. When he announced that there was gold in the Black Hills, mining companies wanted a piece of the action.

The government tried to force the Native American people out of their lands and onto reservations. This action led directly to the Battle of Little Big Horn. The Lakota Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho joined forces to fight Custer's 7th Cavalry near the Little Big Horn River in the Montana territory. The Army attacked the Native American camp, not realizing how many tribes had joined together. The US troops were badly outnumbered and they lost over 700 men, including Custer himself.

After the Battle of Little Big Horn, Sitting Bull led his people to safety in Canada. They stayed there for four years, but returned to the United States as they were facing mass starvation. Sitting Bull surrendered in 1883, and was sent to the Standing Rock Reservation in what is now South Dakota.

In 1890, the Ghost Dance religious movement gained popularity amongst Native Americans. In an effort to keep Sitting Bull from supporting the movemnet, a group of Indian police was sent to arrest Sitting Bull. They went very early in the morning, hoping to avoid confrontation; however, the confrontation took place anyway, with several people, including Sitting Bull, being killed.

Shortly after this happened, the Wounded Knee Massacre took place, and ended the Native American resistance.