In the course of the Indian Wars and the “winning of the west” and prior to such an era the American public was lead to believe certain “truths” of their neighbors that dwelled in uncharted lands. From the time of Columbus Native Americans began to be taken advantage of, deceived, and abused, while at the same time being declared as savages, and inhuman. Robbed of their lands in the East, Native Americans were forced to withdraw westward, or to assimilate into European culture; neither of which was an easy task.
The fact that propaganda was stirred by authorities to fuel common hatred toward these unfortunate nations is a travesty that our nation is forced to bear through the expanses of time, as pointed out to us by our Russian enemies during the Cold War. The truth of the matter is that nothing can be done to correctly rectify the situation, to give back a vast nation that we have come to call our own. This is an impossible feat, but it is possible to quell the stereotypes that were created in days of old.
One man that seems to be clouded with myth and legend is the leader of Sioux nation known as Crazy Horse. Because stories of the Sioux's revered leader and his upbringing were passed down as oral tradition, it is a given that articles were mixed into the equation to give it more flavor. One story is of Crazy Horse telling his father that he had a dream that he saw a brave riding in the fields, and while hands reached out to grab him, none to hold its grasp. The father interpreted the dream to mean that Crazy Horse would be a great warrior and leader to his people.
This story seems to be unquestionably a myth because there is no proof that Crazy Horse had this dream, and there can be no reasonable explanation as to how his father derived such a meaning from such an unrelated dream. It would make more sense to venture a guess that the father had taken a lucky guess, and was proven right as in the future his son would become a truly great military leader. It is very likely that this story was added to Crazy Horse's “history”, to provide foreshadowing and dramatic effect for such a beloved Sioux leader.
Another story that can be established as being even more far-fetched is the legend of Crazy Horse and the bear. One day, young Crazy Horse and his brother were working on the ponies and Crazy Horse was teaching his brother how to ride with what knowledge he had gained from the hunting parties. All of a sudden a great bear burst out of the brush, and after taking his brother to the tallest tree, selflessly rode off, gathered control of the horse, and rode back to challenge the great bear. The bear, then seeing Crazy Horse running at him turned and fled, and Crazy horse saved the day.
Stories such as these are also an important part to be integrated into the history of Crazy Horse's youth by Sioux storytellers, because it is stories such as these that show such an early display of courage in such a hero. The odds that a little boy would through his brother into a tree, and then mount a horse just as the bear was in their midst is close to none. The odds, however, of a bear being scared off by a boy on a horse is even less. Sioux storytellers justify this myth by explaining that Crazy Horse bore a whip in his hand, which bears were strangely afraid of, while this seems to be a rather weak excuse for a seemingly unexplainable and unjustifiable story.
Last but not least is a story of Crazy Horse's heroics while in battle. Crazy Horse's first military engagement was when he was at the age of sixteen, and immediately he established his bravery when riding out in front of the pack during a raid on Crow forces. He was following one of the Sioux's greatest warriors, Hump, closely until Humps horse was shot out from under him. When he saw that the enemy Crows were rushing to kill or capture Hump, Crazy Horse leaped off his horse and rushed to Hump's rescue, pulling him away from the Crows, and to safety. It is important when describing a hero to mention selfless and exceedingly brave acts while still young, such as the bear story, to show what a great warrior someone like Crazy Horse was bound to become.
This story, however, is the least likely to be true of the three, due to one pressingly simple fact. The story mentions that Hump and Crazy Horse ride up ahead of the group, and when Hump falls, Crazy Horse drags him to safety while the Crows close in on all sides. It would be physically impossible for Crazy Horse, a young man of sixteen, to drag one of Sioux's biggest and greatest warriors, and at the same time outrun multiple advancing Crow. The sheer mechanics of the situation are breathtakingly impossible, and therefore the story must either be construed or entirely fictional.
Although these stories of Crazy Horse's youth seem to be out of the ordinary and obviously false, they are important in their own way. Crazy Horse is a hero to the Sioux people, and even “a man that other Sioux men can love.” To love a man so greatly calls the need for background stories, to make such a hero more concrete to those that adore him so greatly. These stories are provided just for that cause, not for the sake of providing an accurate history, but to stir up reverence and support for a man that clearly gave his life to defend his nation, a nation that was never really seen as a nation by whites from the start, but most certainly was, and still is. All countries call for heroes, and Crazy Horse, along with others, for example, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, and Geronimo, are such heroes of their time.
