Sitting Bull was a Lakota Chief and holy man who was born around 1831 and died in 1890. He is important in Native American History for his victory against General Custer's Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876. He is said to have had a premonition of victory and is perhaps the best known Native American hero in history.
From 1863 to 1867 the US Army pushed their way into native lands and upset the balance of their economy. The buffalo on which they relied dropped in numbers and trade between tribes became more difficult. Sitting Bull became leader of the Sioux nation in 1867 and peace was made. Sitting Bull was promised that the Black Hills would remain in the hands of the Sioux and that their sacred status would be respected.
However the Black Hills were rich in gold and prospectors continually broke the agreement and went in search of a fortune. In 1875 press coverage brought thousands of gold diggers to the Black Hills. The Sioux complained and the American government ordered them on to reservations. Only some obeyed the orders. In March 1876 General Crook set up camp to round up the "hostiles".
Siting Bull and the Sioux were no match for the American army so they banded together with the Cheyenne and Arapaho and on June 17th 1876 they forced Crook's army to retreat at the battle of The Rosebud. Then they set up camp at The Little Big Horn.
Chief Sitting Bull performed a religious dance called The Sun Dance and received a vision in which he saw soldiers falling from the sky. The dream came true on 25th June when Custer led his army into the village and more than 200 soldiers perished. The Sioux nation thought that this would make the American government leave them alone but it didn't happen that way. Everywhere they went they were pursued, the buffalo were driven away and they couldn't survive.
Eventually Sitting Bull led his band into Canada but near starvation forced them to surrender. Sitting Bull was imprisoned for 2 years and then allowed to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Circus. He traveled all over America and Canada until he returned to the reservation in 1889.
Members of his tribe had joined a new religion called "Ghost Dance", which promised an Indian Messiah who would free them, restore their lands and get rid of the whites. Sitting Bull was imprisoned as a precaution. The authorities were afraid that his followers would see him as their salvation, so they imprisoned him. In 1890 his warriors tried to rescue him and he was killed.
