Crazy Horse

Oglala Sioux Indian Chief

1842-1877
Crazy horse was born to the name Tashunka Uitco near present day Rapid
city in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is said that Crazy Horse took on this
name only after the death of his father who shared his namesake. Even as a child
this man was a warrior, leading his first war party before the age of twenty. Crazy
Horse was born right before the waning of the great Lakota people when they were
the majority leaders among the Sioux tribes, they controlled a vast expansion of
land reaching from the Missouri River to the Big Horn mountains, and their
contact with the white settlers was quite minimal. As he grew the American settlers
too grew their expansion farther and farther west, causing tension with each step.
As the conflict between the white settlers and the Lakota people grew, Crazy
Horse had established himself as a leader in the center of many a conflict. One of
the notable victories he led his warriors in is what is now known as the Fetterman
Massacre. In this conflict, Crazy Horse and the Lakota warriors triumphed over 80
men in what went down as one of the biggest embarrassments for the U.S. Military
during the Native American Wars.
One of the most admirable things that Crazy Horse did is after the signing of
the Fort Laramie Treat of 1868, which was intended to protect the Lakota lands in
the Black Hills, he continued to fight for what he believed in and to reclaim the
Lakota lifestyle he had known as a boy. He didnt fight for one victory or the
signing of a treaty, but he fought as a protest of the loss the Lakota had been tolled
at the hands of white settlers. For him victory was absolute victory and he intended
to fight and inspire others to fight until that victory was achieved.
After the historic victory of Crazy Horse and the allied Native American
forces against General George Crook and again of Lt. Col. Custer and their forces

on Little Bighorn in 1776, the U.S. Military brought down their full might and
snuffed out all hope for the return of the Lakota lifestyle to its former glory. As
Sitting Bull and his followers fled to Canada to escape the wrath of the U.S.
Military, Crazy Horse stuck to his guns and continued to carry on the fight. As the
conflict grew and supplies dwindled, Crazy Horses warriors began to abandon
him, and in may of 1877, he rode to Fort Robinson in Nebraska to surrender. After
His honorable defeat he was instructed to stay on the reservation for the remainder
of his life, but after defying this order, he was again brought to Ford Robinson and
killed in a struggle with officers.
Crazy Horse lived and died as one of the fiercest protectors and most
visionary leaders of the Native Americans and to this day is celebrated as such.
"Crazy Horse." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082>.
Eidt, Jack. "David Swallow Jr: People Connected Through Spirit and Sacred
Places." WilderUtopiacom. N.p., 08 Oct. 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.wilderutopia.com/traditions/david-swallow-jr-people
connected-through-spirit-and-sacred-places/>.
"Native Sun News: South Dakota Observes Native American Day." Indianz. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. <http://www.indianz.com/News/2012/007351.asp>.