View source for Sitting Bull

{{Short description|Hunkpapa Lakota leader (1831–1890)}}
{{about|the Hunkpapa Lakota leader|the film|Sitting Bull (film)|other uses}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Sitting Bull
| native_name        = Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake
| native_name_lang   = lkt
| image              = Sitting Bull by D F Barry ca 1883 Dakota Territory.jpg
| caption            = Sitting Bull, {{circa|1883}}
| known_for          = [[Hunkpapa]] [[Lakota people|Lakota]] holy man and leader
| birth_name         = Húŋkešni (Slow) or Ȟoká Psíče (Jumping Badger)
| birth_date         = {{circa|1831–1837}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |year=1955 |volume=20 |page=723 }}</ref>
| birth_place        = [[Grand River (South Dakota)|Grand River]], [[Dakota Territory]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date|1890|12|15}} (aged 53–57)
| death_place        = [[Standing Rock Indian Reservation]], [[Grand River (South Dakota)|Grand River]], [[South Dakota]], U.S.
| death_cause        = Gunshot wound
| resting_place      = [[Mobridge, South Dakota]], U.S.
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|45|31|1|N|100|29|7|W|region:US-SD_type:landmark|display=inline}}
| spouse             = {{Plainlist|
* Light Hair
* Four-Robes-Woman
* Snow-on-Her<ref>”The Oglala Light”, 01 April 1917, page 29</ref><ref>”The Cornell Daily Sun” 17 January 1917, page 5, vol. XXXVII, No. 87</ref><ref>death certificate 2081, State of North Dakota, 14 January 1917</ref>
* Seen-by-her-Nation
* Scarlet Woman
 }}
| relations          = {{Plainlist|
* [[White Bull]] (nephew)
* [[One Bull]] (nephew)
* [[Flying Hawk]] (nephew)
* [[Ernie LaPointe]] (great-grandson)
 }}
| children           = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Crow Foot]] (son)
* Many Horses (daughter)
* Standing Holy (daughter)
* [[William Sitting Bull]], a.k.a. Runs-away-from-him/Nakicipa (son)<ref name="LaPointe, Ernie 2009">{{cite book |title=Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy |author=LaPointe, Ernie |publisher=Gibbs Smith |year=2009 }}</ref>
* Lodge in Sight (daughter)
* [[John Sitting Bull]], a.k.a. Refuses-them (stepson)<ref name="LaPointe, Ernie 2009">{{cite book |title=Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy |author=LaPointe, Ernie |publisher=Gibbs Smith |year=2009 }}</ref>
 }}
| parents            = {{Plainlist|
* Jumping Bull (father)
* Her-Holy-Door (mother)
 }}
| signature          = Sitting Bull Signature.svg
| module             = {{Infobox military person |embed=yes
| battles          = [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]]}}
}}

'''Sitting Bull''' ({{langx|lkt|Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake}} {{IPA|sio|tˣaˈtˣə̃ka ˈijɔtakɛ|}};<ref>[[#Reference-idNLD|New Lakota Dictionary, 2008]]</ref> {{circa|1831–1837}}{{spnd}}December 15, 1890)<ref name="nps-birthdate">{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/sitting-bull.htm |title=Sitting Bull |website=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-date=August 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801205101/https://www.nps.gov/libi/learn/historyculture/sitting-bull.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy |author=LaPointe, Ernie |publisher=Gibbs Smith |year=2009 |pages=22 }}</ref> was a [[Hunkpapa]] [[Lakota people|Lakota]] leader who led his people during years of resistance against [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian agency police accompanied by U.S. officers and supported by U.S. troops<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-west/an-account-of-sitting-bulls-death | title=The West: A Film by Steven Ives &#124; Ken Burns &#124; PBS &#124; an Account of Sitting Bull's Death &#124; the West | website=[[PBS]] }}</ref> on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him at a time when authorities feared that he would join the [[Ghost Dance]] movement.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kehoe |first=Alice |title=The Ghost Dance |year=2006 |publisher=Waveland Press, Inc. |location=Long Grove, IL |isbn=1-57766-453-1 }}</ref>

Before the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]], Sitting Bull had a vision in which he saw many soldiers, "as thick as grasshoppers", falling upside down into the Lakota camp, which his people took as a foreshadowing of a major victory in which many soldiers would be killed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Reilly |first=Edward J. |date=2011 |title=Legends of American Indian Resistance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6DSHm09UebwC&q=sitting+bull+vision&pg=PA124 |publisher=Greenwood |page=124 |isbn=978-0-313-35209-6 |access-date=November 3, 2020 |archive-date=May 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531001311/https://books.google.com/books?id=6DSHm09UebwC&q=sitting+bull+vision&pg=PA124 |url-status=live }}</ref> About three weeks later, the confederated Lakota tribes with the Northern [[Cheyenne]] defeated the [[7th Cavalry Regiment|7th Cavalry]] under Lt. Col. [[George Armstrong Custer]] on June 25, 1876, annihilating Custer's battalion and seeming to fulfill Sitting Bull's prophetic vision. Sitting Bull's leadership inspired his people to a major victory. In response, the U.S. government sent thousands more soldiers to the area, forcing many of the Lakota to surrender over the next year. Sitting Bull refused to surrender, and in May 1877, he led his band north to [[Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan|Wood Mountain]], North-West Territories, now [[Saskatchewan]]. He remained there until 1881, when he and most of his band returned to U.S. territory and surrendered to U.S. forces.

After working as a performer with ''[[Buffalo Bill's Wild West]]'' show, Sitting Bull returned to the [[Standing Rock Agency]] in [[South Dakota]]. Because of fears that Sitting Bull would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement, [[Bureau of Indian Affairs|Indian Service]] agent [[James McLaughlin (Indian agent)|James McLaughlin]] at [[Fort Yates]] ordered his arrest. During an ensuing struggle between Sitting Bull's followers and the agency police, Sitting Bull was shot in the chest and head by Standing Rock policemen Lieutenant Bull Head (''Tatankapah'', {{langx|lkt|links=no|Tȟatȟáŋka Pȟá}}) and Red Tomahawk (''Marcelus Chankpidutah'', {{langx|lkt|links=no|Čhaŋȟpí Dúta}}), after the police were fired upon by Sitting Bull's supporters. His body was taken to nearby Fort Yates for burial. In 1953, his Lakota family exhumed what were believed to be his remains, reburying them near [[Mobridge, South Dakota]], near his birthplace.

==Early life==
Sitting Bull was born on land later included in the [[Dakota Territory]] sometime between 1831 and 1837.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/sittingbull.htm |title=PBS: The West: Sitting Bull |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-date=August 30, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830122040/http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/sittingbull.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Utley |first=Robert |title=Sitting Bull: The Life and Times of an American Patriot |year=2008 |publisher=Holt Paperbacks |isbn=978-0805088304 |page=22 }}</ref> In 2007, Sitting Bull's great-grandson asserted from family [[oral tradition]] that Sitting Bull was born along the [[Yellowstone River]], south of present-day [[Miles City, Montana]].<ref name=birth>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/heritage/200711-sittingbull.html?c=y&page=3 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130419111153/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/specialsections/heritage/200711-sittingbull.html?c=y&page=3 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 19, 2013 |author=Blumberg, Jess |title=Sitting Bull's Legacy |magazine=Smithsonian |date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=October 4, 2011 }}</ref> He was named Ȟoká Psíče (Jumping Badger) at birth, and nicknamed ''Húŋkešni'' {{IPA|sio|ˈhʊ̃kɛʃni|}} or "Slow", an allusion to his careful and unhurried nature.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3771.html |title=United States History: Sitting Bull. |access-date=January 30, 2012 |archive-date=September 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902070933/http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3771.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

When Sitting Bull was 14 years old, he accompanied a group of [[Lakota people|Lakota]] warriors, which included his father and his uncle Four Horns, in a raiding party to take horses from a camp of [[Crow Nation|Crow]] warriors. He displayed bravery by riding forward and [[counting coup]] on one of the surprised Crow, which was witnessed by the other mounted Lakota. Upon returning to camp, his father gave a celebratory feast at which he conferred his own name upon his son. The name, Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake, in the [[Lakota language]], roughly translates to "Buffalo Bull Who Sits Down", but Americans commonly refer to him as "Sitting Bull".<ref name="naming">{{cite book |author=LaPointe, Ernie |title=Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy |publisher=Gibbs Smith |year=2009 |pages=16 }}</ref> Thereafter, Sitting Bull's father was known as Jumping Bull. At this ceremony before the entire band, Sitting Bull's father presented his son with an [[Eagle dance#Eagle feathers|eagle feather]] to wear in his hair, a warrior's horse, and a hardened buffalo hide shield to mark his son's [[Rite of passage|passage into manhood]] as a Lakota warrior.<ref name= naming/>

During the [[Dakota War of 1862]], in which Sitting Bull's people were not involved,<ref name= pbs /> several bands of eastern [[Dakota people]] killed an estimated 300 to 800 settlers and soldiers in south-central [[Minnesota]] in response to poor treatment by the government and in an effort to drive the whites away. Despite being embroiled in the [[American Civil War]], the [[United States Army]] retaliated in 1863 and 1864, even against bands that had not been involved in the hostilities.<ref name="NPS">{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/the-us-army-and-the-sioux.htm |title=The US Army and the Sioux |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629031510/http://www.nps.gov/thro/historyculture/the-us-army-and-the-sioux.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1864, two brigades of about 2,200 soldiers under Brigadier General [[Alfred Sully]] [[Battle of Killdeer Mountain|attacked a village]]. The defenders were led by Sitting Bull, [[Gall (Native American leader)|Gall]] and [[Inkpaduta]].<ref name="NPS"/> The Lakota and Dakota were driven out, but skirmishing continued into August at the [[Battle of the Badlands]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/thro/learn/historyculture/the-us-army-and-the-sioux-part-2.htm |title=The US Army and the Sioux - Part 2: Battle of the Badlands |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=April 7, 2012 |archive-date=April 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412165839/http://www.nps.gov/thro/historyculture/the-us-army-and-the-sioux-part-2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Clodfelter2006">{{cite book |first=Micheal D. |last=Clodfelter |title=The Dakota War: The United States Army Versus the Sioux, 1862-1865 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Sa5U8aAyA0C&pg=PP10 |access-date=April 7, 2012 |date=February 28, 2006 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-2726-0 |page=178 |archive-date=May 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531001138/https://books.google.com/books?id=7Sa5U8aAyA0C&pg=PP10 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September, Sitting Bull and about one hundred [[Hunkpapa Lakota]] encountered a small party near what is now [[Marmarth, North Dakota]]. They had been left behind by a [[wagon train]] commanded by Captain [[James L. Fisk]] to repair an overturned wagon. When he led an attack, Sitting Bull was shot in the left hip by a soldier.<ref name="NPS"/> The bullet exited through the small of his back, and the wound was not serious.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sitting Bull, Champion of the Sioux: A Biography |last=Vestal |first=Stanley |year=1989 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |isbn=0-8061-2219-6 |page=63 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvrzJJcUNsUC&q=Sitting+Bull+1864&pg=PA64 |access-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-date=May 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531001107/https://books.google.com/books?id=QvrzJJcUNsUC&q=Sitting+Bull+1864&pg=PA64 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Red Cloud's War==
{{Further|Red Cloud}}
From 1866 to 1868, [[Red Cloud]], a leader of the [[Oglala Lakota]], fought against U.S. forces, attacking their forts in an effort to keep control of the [[Powder River Country]] in present-day [[Montana]]. In support of Red Cloud, Sitting Bull led numerous war parties against [[Fort Berthold]], [[Fort Stevenson]], and [[Fort Buford]] and their allies from 1865 to 1868.<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1993|Utley 1993]], pp. 66–72.</ref> The uprising has come to be known as [[Red Cloud's War]].

By early 1868, the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] desired a peaceful settlement to the conflict. It agreed to Red Cloud's demands that the U.S. abandon Forts [[Fort Phil Kearny|Phil Kearny]] and [[Fort C. F. Smith (Fort Smith, Montana)|C.F. Smith]]. Gall of the Hunkpapa and other representatives of the Hunkpapa, [[Sihasapa|Blackfeet]] and [[Yankton Dakota]], signed a form of the [[Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)|Treaty of Fort Laramie]] on July 2, 1868, at [[Fort Rice]] (near [[Bismarck, North Dakota|Bismarck]], North Dakota).<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1993|Utley 1993]], p. 80.</ref> Sitting Bull did not agree to the treaty. He told the [[Jesuits|Jesuit]] missionary Pierre Jean De Smet, who sought him on behalf of the government: "I wish all to know that I do not propose to sell any part of my country."<ref>Matteoni, Norman E.(2015) ''Prairie Man'', The Struggle between Sitting Bull and Indian Agent James McLaughlin, TwoDot. p. 41. {{ISBN|9781442244757 }}</ref> He continued his hit-and-run attacks on forts in the upper Missouri area throughout the late 1860s and early 1870s.<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1993|Utley 1993]], p. 82.</ref>

The events between 1866 and 1868 mark a historically debated period of Sitting Bull's life. According to historian [[Stanley Vestal]], who conducted interviews with surviving Hunkpapa in 1930, Sitting Bull was made "Supreme Chief of the whole Sioux Nation" at this time. Historians and [[ethnologist]]s later refuted this, since Lakota society was highly decentralized. Lakota bands and their elders made individual decisions, including whether or not to wage war.<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1993|Utley 1993]], pp. 88–89.</ref>

==Great Sioux War of 1876==
{{further|Great Sioux War of 1876}}
[[File:Sitting Bull by Goff, 1881.png|thumb|An 1881 [[cabinet card]] of Sitting Bull]]
[[File:Sittingbullharpersweekly.jpg|thumb|An illustration of Sitting Bull, published in the December 8, 1877, issue of ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'']]
In the late 1860s, Sitting Bull's band of Hunkpapa continued to attack migrating parties and forts. In 1871, the [[Northern Pacific Railway]] conducted a [[surveying|survey]] for a route across the northern plains directly through Hunkpapa lands, it encountered stiff Lakota resistance.<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1973|Utley, ''Frontier Regulars'' 1973]], p. 242.</ref> The same railway people returned the following year accompanied by federal troops. Sitting Bull and the Hunkpapa attacked the survey party, which was forced to turn back.<ref>[[#Reference-idBailey1979|Bailey 1979]], pp. 84–85.</ref> 

In 1873, the military accompaniment for the surveyors was increased again, but Sitting Bull's forces resisted the survey "most vigorously."<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1973|Utley ''Frontier Regulars'' 1973]], p. 242.</ref> The [[Panic of 1873]] forced the Northern Pacific Railway's backers, such as [[Jay Cooke]], into bankruptcy, which halted construction of the railroad through Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota territory.<ref name="Lubetkin 2006 ">{{cite book |last=Lubetkin |first=M |title=Jay Cooke's gamble : the Northern Pacific Railroad, the Sioux, and the Panic of 1873 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8061-4468-9 |oclc=171287606 }}</ref>

After the 1848 discovery of gold in the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] and dramatic gains in new wealth from it, other men became interested in the potential for [[gold mining]] in the [[Black Hills]].

In 1874, Lt. Col. [[George Armstrong Custer]] led a military expedition from [[Fort Abraham Lincoln]] near [[Bismarck, North Dakota|Bismarck]] to explore the Black Hills for gold and to determine a suitable location for a military fort in the Hills.<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1973|Utley ''Frontier Regulars'' 1973]], p. 244.</ref> Custer's announcement of gold in the Black Hills triggered the [[Black Hills Gold Rush]]. Tensions increased between the Lakota and [[European Americans]] seeking to move into the Black Hills.<ref>[[#Reference-idBailey1979|Bailey 1979]], pp. 106–07.</ref>

Although Sitting Bull did not attack Custer's expedition in 1874, the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] was increasingly pressured by citizens to open the Black Hills to mining and settlement. Failing in an attempt to negotiate a purchase or lease of the Hills, the government in Washington had to find a way around the promise to protect the Sioux in their land, as specified in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.<ref>Matteoni, ''Prairie Man'', pp. 67–69.</ref> It was alarmed at reports of Sioux depredations, some of which were encouraged by Sitting Bull.

In November 1875, President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] ordered all Sioux bands outside the [[Great Sioux Reservation]] to move onto the reservation, knowing that not all would likely comply. As of February 1, 1876, the [[United States Department of the Interior|Interior Department]] certified as hostile those bands who continued to live off the reservation.<ref name="Utley p. 248">[[#Reference-idUtley1973|Utley ''Frontier Regulars'' 1973]], p. 248.</ref> This certification allowed the military to pursue Sitting Bull and other Lakota bands as "hostiles".<ref name="Utley p. 248"/><ref name="Black Hills Visitor 2015">{{cite web |title=Native American Culture and the Black Hills 1874-1876 – Black Hills Visitor |website=Black Hills Visitor |date=October 12, 2015 |url=https://blackhillsvisitor.com/learn/native-american-culture-and-the-black-hills-1874-1876/ |access-date=December 13, 2020 |archive-date=October 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004125658/https://blackhillsvisitor.com/learn/native-american-culture-and-the-black-hills-1874-1876/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Based on tribal oral histories, historian Margot Liberty theorizes that many Lakota bands allied with the [[Cheyenne]] during the Plains Wars because they thought the other nation was under attack by the U.S. Given this connection, she suggests the major war should have been called "The Great Cheyenne War". Since 1860, the Northern Cheyenne had led several battles among the Plains Indians. Before 1876, the U.S. Army had destroyed seven Cheyenne camps, more than those of any other nation.<ref name="cheyenne">{{cite web |last=Liberty |first=Dr. Margot |url=http://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/cheyenneprimacy.htm |title=Cheyenne Primacy: The Tribes' Perspective As Opposed To That Of The United States Army; A Possible Alternative To "The Great Sioux War Of 1876" |publisher=Friends of the Little Bighorn |access-date=January 13, 2008 |archive-date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031181106/http://www.friendslittlebighorn.com/cheyenneprimacy.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Other historians, such as [[Robert M. Utley]] and Jerome Greene, also use Lakota oral testimony, but they have concluded that the Lakota coalition, of which Sitting Bull was the ostensible head, was the primary target of the federal government's pacification campaign.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sitting Bull: The Life and Times of an American Patriot |last=Utley |first=Robert M. |year=1993 |publisher=Henry Holt&Co. |location=New York City |isbn=0-8050-8830-X |pages=88, 122 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Battles and Skirmishes of the Great Sioux War, 1876–77: The Military View |last=Greene |first=Jerome |year=1993 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman, OK |isbn=0-8061-2535-7 |pages=xvi, xvii }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Lakota and Cheyenne: Indian Views of the Great Sioux War, 1876–1877 |last=Greene |first=Jerome |year=1994 |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman, OK |isbn=0-8061-3245-0 |page=xv }}</ref>

During the period 1868–1876, Sitting Bull developed into one of the most important Native American political leaders. After the 1868 [[Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)|Treaty of Fort Laramie]] and the creation of the Great Sioux Reservation, many traditional Sioux warriors, such as Red Cloud of the Oglala and [[Spotted Tail]] of the [[Brulé]], moved to reside permanently on the reservations. They were largely dependent for subsistence on the U.S. Indian agencies. Many other chiefs, including members of Sitting Bull's Hunkpapa band such as Gall, at times, lived temporarily at the agencies. They needed the supplies at a time when white encroachment and the depletion of buffalo herds reduced their resources and challenged Native American independence.{{Citation needed|date=June 2012}}

In 1875, the Northern Cheyenne, Hunkpapa, Oglala, Sans Arc, and Minneconjou camped together for a [[Sun Dance]], with both the Cheyenne [[medicine man]] White Bull or Ice and Sitting Bull in association. This ceremonial alliance preceded their fighting together in 1876.<ref name="cheyenne" /> Sitting Bull had a major revelation.

<blockquote>At the climactic moment, "Sitting Bull intoned, 'The Great Spirit has given our enemies to us. We are to destroy them. We do not know who they are. They may be soldiers.' Ice too observed, 'No one then knew who the enemy were&nbsp;– of what tribe.'...They were soon to find out."
:— Utley 1992: 122–24</blockquote>

Sitting Bull's refusal to adopt any dependence on the U.S. government meant that at times he and his small band of warriors lived isolated on the [[Great Plains|Plains]]. When Native Americans were threatened by the United States, numerous members from various Sioux bands and other tribes, such as the Northern Cheyenne, came to Sitting Bull's camp. His reputation for "strong medicine" developed as he continued to evade the European Americans.

After the ultimatum on January 1, 1876, when the U.S. Army began to track down as hostiles those Sioux and others living off the reservation, Native Americans gathered at Sitting Bull's camp. He took an active role in encouraging this "unity camp". He sent scouts to the reservations to recruit warriors and told the Hunkpapa to share supplies with those Native Americans who joined them. An example of his generosity was Sitting Bull's provision for [[Wooden Leg]]'s Northern Cheyenne tribe. They had been impoverished by Captain Reynolds' March 17, 1876, attack and fled to Sitting Bull's camp for safety.<ref name="cheyenne" />

Over the course of the first half of 1876, Sitting Bull's camp continually expanded as natives joined him for safety in numbers. His leadership had attracted warriors and families, creating an extensive village estimated at more than 10,000 people. Lt. Col. Custer came across this large camp on June 25, 1876. Sitting Bull did not take a direct military role in the ensuing battle; instead, he acted as a spiritual leader. A week prior to the attack, he had performed the Sun Dance, in which he fasted and sacrificed over 100 pieces of flesh from his arms.<ref name="pbs" />

===Battle of the Little Bighorn===
{{Main|Battle of the Little Bighorn}}
[[File:little bighorn memorial overview with clouds.jpg|thumb|The area of [[Big Horn County, Montana]] where the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]] was fought]]
On June 25, 1876, Custer's scouts discovered Sitting Bull's camp along the Little Big Horn River, known as the Greasy Grass River to the Lakota.

After being ordered to attack, Custer's 7th Cavalry's troops lost ground quickly and were forced to retreat. Sitting Bull's followers, led into battle by Crazy Horse, counterattacked and ultimately defeated Custer while surrounding and laying siege to the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn#Aftermath|other two battalions led by Reno and Benteen]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Powers, Thomas |title=How the Battle of Little Bighorn Was Won |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-the-Battle-of-Little-Bighorn-Was-Won.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408214831/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-the-Battle-of-Little-Bighorn-Was-Won.html |archive-date=April 8, 2013 |access-date=February 22, 2013 |work=Smithsonian Magazine }}</ref>

The Native Americans' victory celebrations were short-lived. Public shock and outrage at Custer's defeat and death, and the government's understanding of the military capability of the remaining Sioux, led the [[Department of War]] to assign thousands more soldiers to the area. Over the next year, the new American military forces pursued the Lakota, forcing many of the Native Americans to surrender. Sitting Bull refused to do so and in May 1877 led his band across the border into the [[North-West Territories]], Canada. He remained in exile for four years near [[Wood Mountain Regional Park|Wood Mountain]], refusing a pardon and the chance to return.<ref>[http://woodmountain.ca/ Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071204211700/http://www.woodmountain.ca/ |date=December 4, 2007 }} official site.</ref> 

When crossing the border into Canadian territory, Sitting Bull was met by the [[North-West Mounted Police|Mounties]] of the region. During this meeting, [[James Morrow Walsh]], commander of the North-West Mounted Police, explained to Sitting Bull that the Lakota were now on British soil and must obey British law. Walsh emphasized that he enforced the law equally and that every person in the territory had a right to justice. Walsh became an advocate for Sitting Bull and the two became good friends for the remainder of their lives.<ref>Bridger, Bobby. ''Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull: Inventing the Wild West''. University of Texas Press, 2002, pp. 270–88</ref>

While in Canada, Sitting Bull also met with [[Crowfoot]], who was a leader of the [[Blackfoot Confederacy|Blackfeet]], long-time powerful enemies of the Lakota and Cheyenne. Sitting Bull wished to make peace with the Blackfeet Nation and Crowfoot. As an advocate for peace himself, Crowfoot eagerly accepted the tobacco peace offering. Sitting Bull was so impressed by Crowfoot that he named one of his sons after him.<ref>Dempsey, H. A. (1972). ''Crowfoot, Chief of the Blackfeet'' (1st ed.). Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, P. 91</ref>

Sitting Bull and his people stayed in Canada for four years. Due to the smaller size of the buffalo herds in Canada, Sitting Bull and his men found it difficult to find enough food to feed their starving people. Sitting Bull's presence in the country led to increased tensions between the Canadian and the United States governments.<ref>Reis, Ronald A. ''Legends of the Wild West: Sitting Bull'' Infobase Publishing, 2010, pp. 81–82</ref> Before Sitting Bull left Canada, he may have visited Walsh for a final time and left a ceremonial headdress as a memento.<ref>''Kensington, Museums Secrets: The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto'', History TV, 2012</ref>

===Surrender===
[[File:Fort Buford 2010.jpg|thumb|[[Fort Buford]]'s commanding officer's quarters in present-day [[Williams County, North Dakota]], where Sitting Bull's surrender ceremony was held]]
[[File:Sitting Bull and family 1881 at Ft Randall rear L-R Good Feather Woman (sister), Walks Looking (daughter) front L-R Her Holy Door (mother), Sitting Bull, Many Horses (daughter) with her son, Courting a Woman.jpg|thumb|Sitting Bull and family 1881 at Fort Randall. Rear L–R: Good Feather Woman (sister), Walks Looking (daughter); Front L–R: Her Holy Door (mother), Sitting Bull, Many Horses (daughter) with her son, Courting a Woman]]
[[File:Sitting Bull (Tatonka-I-Yatanka), a Hunkpapa Sioux, 1885 - NARA - 530896.jpg|thumb|Sitting Bull in 1885]]
Hunger and desperation eventually forced Sitting Bull and 186 of his family and followers to return to the United States and surrender on July 19, 1881. Sitting Bull had his young son [[Crow Foot]] surrender his [[Winchester Rifle]] to major David H. Brotherton, commanding officer of [[Fort Buford]]. Sitting Bull said to Brotherton, "I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle".<ref name="pbs"/> 

In the parlor of the Commanding Officer's Quarters in a ceremony the next day, he told the four soldiers, 20 warriors and other guests in the small room that he wished to regard the soldiers and the white race as friends, but he wanted to know who would teach his son the new ways of the world. Two weeks later, after waiting in vain for other members of his tribe to follow him from Canada, Sitting Bull and his band were transferred to [[Fort Yates]], the military post located adjacent to the [[Standing Rock Agency]]. This [[Standing Rock Indian Reservation|reservation]] straddles the present-day boundary between North and South Dakota.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visit Us |url=https://www.standingrock.org/content/visit-us |website=Standing Rock Sioux Tribe |access-date=December 13, 2020 |archive-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202095818/https://www.standingrock.org/content/visit-us |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sitting Bull and his band of 186 people were kept separate from the other [[Hunkpapa]] gathered at the agency. [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] officials were concerned that he would stir up trouble among the recently surrendered northern bands. On August 26, 1881, he was visited by [[United States census|U.S. census]] taker William T. Selwyn, who counted 12 people in the Hunkpapa leader's immediate family and 41 families, totaling 195 people, were recorded in Sitting Bull's band.<ref>Ephriam D. Dickson III, [http://www.sdshspress.com/index.php?&id=220&action=912 ''The Sitting Bull Surrender Census: The Lakotas at Standing Rock Agency, 1881''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716025207/http://www.sdshspress.com/index.php?&id=220&action=912 |date=July 16, 2011 }}, Pierre: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2010, pp. 23–33.</ref>

The military decided to transfer Sitting Bull and his band to [[Fort Randall]] to be held as prisoners of war. Loaded onto a [[steamboat]], the band of 172 people was sent down the [[Missouri River]] to Fort Randall near present-day [[Pickstown, South Dakota]] on the southern border of the state, where they spent the next 20 months. They were allowed to return north to the Standing Rock Agency in May 1883.<ref name="pbs"/>

In 1883, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that Sitting Bull had been baptized into the [[Catholic Church]]. [[James McLaughlin (Indian agent)|James McLaughlin]], Indian agent at Standing Rock Agency, dismissed these reports, saying: "The reported baptism of Sitting-Bull is erroneous. There is no immediate prospect of such ceremony so far as I am aware."<ref>Whittaker, ''A Complete Life of General Custer,'' Volume 2, p. 535.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1883/04/13/102936772.pdf |title=Sitting Bull becomes a Catholic |newspaper=New York Times |date=April 13, 1883 |access-date=April 11, 2011 |archive-date=July 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710062623/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1883/04/13/102936772.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>'' Chicago Daily Tribune'', May 26, 1883, 8.</ref>

==Annie Oakley==
{{Further|Annie Oakley}}
In 1884, show promoter [[Alvaren Allen]] asked Agent James McLaughlin to allow Sitting Bull to tour parts of Canada and the northern United States. The show was called the "Sitting Bull Connection". It was during this tour that Sitting Bull met [[Annie Oakley]] in present-day [[Minnesota]].<ref name= SB-Oakley >{{cite book |author1=Ernie Lapointe, Great-Grandson of Sitting Bull |title=Sitting Bull: His Life and Legacy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2VMQ5gQInkC&pg=PT87 |date=September 1, 2009 |publisher=Gibbs Smith |isbn=978-1-4236-1266-7 |pages=87– |access-date=November 12, 2015 |archive-date=May 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509151725/https://books.google.com/books?id=w2VMQ5gQInkC&pg=PT87 |url-status=live }}</ref> Sitting Bull was so impressed with Oakley's skills with firearms that he offered $65 (equal to ${{Inflation|US|65|1884|fmt=c}} today) for a photographer to take a photo of the two together.<ref name="pbs.org">[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/oakley-sitting-bull/ Biography: Sitting Bull]  ''[[American Experience]]'' ([[PBS]])</ref>

The admiration and respect were mutual. Oakley stated that Sitting Bull made a "great pet" of her.<ref name="pbs.org"/> In observing Oakley, Sitting Bull's respect for the young [[Exhibition shooting|sharpshooter]] grew. Oakley was quite modest in her attire, deeply respectful of others, and had a remarkable stage persona despite being a woman who stood only five feet in height. Sitting Bull felt that she was "gifted" by supernatural means in order to shoot so accurately with both hands. As a result of his esteem, he symbolically "adopted" her as a daughter in 1884. He named her "Little Sure Shot", a name that Oakley used throughout her career.<ref>[http://www.dorchesterlibrary.org/library/aoakley.html "Annie Oakley"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222002408/http://www.dorchesterlibrary.org/library/aoakley.html |date=February 22, 2008 }}, Dorchester Library</ref>

==Wild West show==
{{Further|Buffalo Bill's Wild West}}
[[File:Antico Caffè Greco (Rome - Italy) - Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull, Black Elk and Diego Angeli - 1890.png|thumb|[[Buffalo Bill]] (far right), Sitting Bull, [[Black Elk]] and the journalist and writer [[Diego Angeli]] at the  [[Antico Caffè Greco]] in Rome on February 1890, during the Italian tour of the [[Wild West shows|Wild West Show]].]]
In 1885, Sitting Bull was allowed to leave the reservation to go [[Wild Westing]] with [[Buffalo Bill|Buffalo Bill Cody's]] ''[[Buffalo Bill's Wild West]]''. He earned about $50 a week, equal to ${{Inflation|US|50|1885|fmt=c}} today, for riding once around the arena, where he was a popular attraction. Although it is rumored that he cursed his audiences in his native tongue during the show, the historian Robert Utley contends that he did not.<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1993|Utley 1993]], p. 263.</ref> Other historians have reported that Sitting Bull gave speeches about his desire for education for the young and reconciling relations between the Sioux and whites.<ref>[[#Reference-idStandingBear|Standing Bear 1975]], p. 185.</ref>

The historian [[Edward Lazarus]] wrote that Sitting Bull reportedly cursed his audience in Lakota in 1884, during an opening address celebrating the completion of the [[Northern Pacific Railway]].<ref>[[#Reference-idLazarus|Lazarus 1991]], p. 106.</ref> According to journalist [[Michael Hiltzik]], "...Sitting Bull declared in [[Lakota language|Lakota]], 'I hate all White people.' ... 'You are thieves and liars. You have taken away our land and made us outcasts.'" The translator, however, read the original address which had been written as a 'gracious act of amity', and the audience, including President [[Ulysses S. Grant|Grant]], was left none the wiser.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hiltzik |first1=Michael |title=Iron Empires: robber barons, railroads and the making of modern America |date=2020 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company |location=New York, New York |isbn=9780544770317 |page=261 }}</ref>

Sitting Bull stayed with the show for four months before returning home. During that time, audiences considered him a celebrity and romanticized him as a [[warrior]]. He earned a small fortune by charging for his autograph and picture, although he often gave his money away to the homeless and beggars.<ref>[[#Reference-idUtley1993|Utley 1993]], p. 264.</ref>

== Ghost Dance movement ==
{{Further|Ghost Dance}}
Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency after working in ''Buffalo Bill's Wild West'' show. The tension between Sitting Bull and Agent McLaughlin increased, and each became warier of the other over several issues including division and sale of parts of the Great Sioux Reservation.<ref>Matteoni, ''Prairie Man'', ch. 16 and 17.</ref> In 1889, Indian Rights Activist [[Caroline Weldon]] from [[Brooklyn]], New York City, a member of the National Indian Defense Association (NIDA), reached out to Sitting Bull, acting to be his voice, secretary, interpreter, and advocate. She joined him, together with her young son Christy, at his compound on the Grand River, sharing with him and his family home and hearth.<ref name="ReferenceA">Pollack, Eileen. Woman Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon and Sitting Bull. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002</ref>

During a time of harsh winters and long droughts impacting the Sioux Reservation, a Paiute Indian named [[Wovoka]] spread a religious movement from present-day [[Nevada]] east to the Plains that preached a resurrection of the Native. It was known as the [[Ghost Dance]] movement because it called on the Indians to dance and chant for the rising up of deceased relatives and the return of the buffalo. The dance included shirts that were said to stop bullets. When the movement reached Standing Rock, Sitting Bull allowed the dancers to gather at his camp. Although he did not appear to participate in the dancing, he was viewed as a key instigator. Alarm spread to nearby white settlements.<ref>Matteoni, ''Prairie Man'', ch. 18.</ref>

==Death==
[[File:Capture and Death of Sitting Bull by Kurz & Allison, 1890.jpg|thumb|''Capture and death of Sitting Bull'', an 1890 [[lithograph]]]]
[[File:Brooke Reports "wild scene" and Chaotic Conditions - NARA - 285042.tif|thumb|In this [[Western Union]] telegram sent on December 20, 1890, after killing Sitting Bull, authorities describe a "wild scene" and "squaws death chant heard in every direction."]]
[[File:Sitting Bull's grave.jpg|thumb|Sitting Bull's grave at [[Fort Yates]], {{Circa|1906}}]]
[[File:SittingBullPhilKonstantin.jpg|thumb|Monument at Sitting Bull's grave in [[Mobridge, South Dakota]] in May 2003]]
In 1890, [[James McLaughlin (Indian agent)|James McLaughlin]], the U.S. [[Indian agent]] at [[Fort Yates]] on Standing Rock Agency, feared that the Lakota leader was about to flee the reservation with the [[Ghost Dance]]rs, so he ordered the police to arrest him.<ref>{{cite news |first=Roger L. |last=Nichols |author2=University of Oklahoma |title=American Indians in U.S. History |page=[https://archive.org/details/americanindiansi0000nich/page/160 160] |url=https://archive.org/details/americanindiansi0000nich |url-access=registration |publisher=Norman Press |year=2003 }}</ref>

On December 14, 1890, McLaughlin drafted a letter to Lieutenant Henry Bullhead, an Indian agency policeman named as Bull Head in the letter's beginning, which included instructions and a plan to capture Sitting Bull. The plan called for the arrest to take place at dawn on December 15 and advised the use of a light spring wagon to facilitate removal before his followers could rally. Bullhead decided against using the wagon. He intended to have the police officers force Sitting Bull to mount a horse immediately after the arrest.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>{{cite news |first=Robert M. |last=Utley |title=The Last Days of the Sioux Nation, 2nd Edition |pages=155, 157 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2004 }}</ref><ref>Richardson, Heather Cox. ''Wounded Knee: Party Politics and the Road to an American Massacre''. New York: Basic Books, 2010</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McLaughlin |first=James |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t00008872&view=1up&seq=11&skin=2021 |title=My friend the Indian |date=April 1910 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Company]] |location=Boston, MA and New York, NY |access-date=December 25, 2021 |archive-date=July 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719152218/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark%3A%2F13960%2Ft00008872&view=1up&seq=11&skin=2021 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Matteoni, Norman E. The Struggle between Sitting Bull and Indian Agent James McLaughlin. Guilford CT: 2015</ref>

Around 5:30&nbsp;a.m. on December 15, 39 police officers and four volunteers approached Sitting Bull's house. They surrounded the house, knocked, and entered. Bull Head told Sitting Bull that he was under arrest and led him outside.<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert M. |last=Utley |title=The Last Days of the Sioux Nation, 2nd Edition |page=158 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2004 }}</ref> Sitting Bull and his wife noisily stalled for time as the camp awakened and men converged at the house. As Bull Head ordered Sitting Bull to mount a horse, he said that the Indian Affairs agent wanted to see the chief, and that Sitting Bull could then return to his house.<ref name="utleylast"/>

When Sitting Bull refused to comply, the police used force on him. The Sioux in the village were enraged. Catch-the-Bear, a Lakota, shouldered his rifle and shot Bull Head, who, in response, fired his revolver into the chest of Sitting Bull.<ref name="utleylast">{{cite news |first=Robert M. |last=Utley |title=The Last Days of the Sioux Nation, 2nd Edition |page=160 |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2004 }}</ref> Another police officer, Red Tomahawk, shot Sitting Bull in the head, and Sitting Bull dropped to the ground. Sitting Bull died between 12 and 1 p.m.<ref name="utleylast"/>

A close quarters fight erupted and, within minutes, 14 men were dead and two others were fatally wounded. The Lakota killed six policemen immediately, and two more died shortly after the fight, including Bull Head. The police killed Sitting Bull and seven of his supporters at the site, along with two horses.<ref>Dippie, Brian W. ''The Vanishing American: White Attitudes and U.S. Indian Policy''. Middleton, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1982.</ref>

===Burial===
Sitting Bull's body was taken to present-day [[Fort Yates, North Dakota]], where it was placed in a coffin made by the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] carpenter there,<ref>Snider, G.L., ''A Maker of Shavings, the Life of Edward Forte, Formerly 1st Sergeant, Troop "D", 7th Cavalry,'' 1936</ref> and he was buried on the grounds of Fort Yates. A monument was installed to mark his burial site after his remains were reportedly taken to [[South Dakota]].

In 1953, Lakota family members exhumed what they believed to be Sitting Bull's remains, transporting them for reinterment near [[Mobridge, South Dakota]], his birthplace.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bones of Sitting Bull Go South From One Dakota to the Other. |url-access=subscription |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D15F63E55107B93CBA9178FD85F478585F9 |publisher=[[Associated Press]] in [[The New York Times]] |date=April 9, 1953 |access-date=May 29, 2008 |archive-date=April 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412074149/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D15F63E55107B93CBA9178FD85F478585F9 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Dan |last=Barry |title=Restoring Dignity to Sitting Bull, Wherever He Is |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/28thisland.html |quote=Then, in 1953, some Chamber of Commerce types from the small South Dakota city of Mobridge executed a startling plan. With the blessing of a few of Sitting Bull's descendants, they crossed into North Dakota after midnight and exhumed what they believed were Sitting Bull's remains. |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=January 28, 2007 |access-date=May 29, 2008 |archive-date=June 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612054533/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/28thisland.html |url-status=live }}</ref> A monument to him was erected there.

==Legacy==
Following Sitting Bull's death, his cabin on the Grand River was taken to Chicago for use as an exhibit at the 1893 [[World's Columbian Exposition]]. Indigenous dancers also performed at the exposition.<ref>[[#Reference-idBarker1994|Barker 1994]], p. 165.</ref> In September 1989, the [[United States Postal Service|U.S. Postal Service]] released a [[Great Americans series]] 28¢ postage stamp featuring a likeness of the leader.<ref>[[#Reference-idUSPS|United States Postal Service, Postal History Web site]].</ref>

In March 1996, Standing Rock College was renamed [[Sitting Bull College]] in his honor. The college serves as an institution of higher education on Sitting Bull's home of Standing Rock in North Dakota and South Dakota.<ref name="aihec.org">[http://www.aihec.org/colleges/TCUprofiles.cfm American Indian Higher Education Consortium] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614070512/http://www.aihec.org/colleges/TCUprofiles.cfm |date=June 14, 2012 }}</ref>

In August 2010, a research team led by [[Eske Willerslev]], an [[ancient DNA]] expert at the [[University of Copenhagen]], announced its intention to sequence the genome of Sitting Bull, with the approval of his descendants, using a hair sample obtained during his lifetime.<ref>[http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/62315/title/Genome_of_a_chief Genome of a chief, ''Science News'', Web edition: Tuesday, August 17th, 2010] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903171549/http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/62315/title/Genome_of_a_chief |date=September 3, 2011 }}.</ref>

In October 2021, Willerslev confirmed Lakota writer and activist [[Ernie Lapointe]]'s contention that he and his three sisters were Sitting Bull's biological great-grandchildren.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 28, 2021 |title=Sitting Bull: DNA confirms great-grandson's identity |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59062133 |access-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-date=October 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028123156/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59062133 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Representation in popular culture==
Sitting Bull was the subject of, or a featured character in, several Hollywood motion pictures and documentaries, which have reflected changing ideas about him and Lakota culture in relation to the United States. Among them are:
* ''Sitting Bull: The Hostile Sioux Indian Chief'' (1914)<ref>{{TCMDb title|552515|Sitting Bull: The Hostile Sioux Indian Chief }}</ref>
* ''[[Sitting Bull at the Spirit Lake Massacre]]'' (1927), with [[Chief Yowlachie]] in the title role<ref>{{AFI film|1685|With Sitting Bull at the Spirit Lake Massacre }}</ref>
* ''[[Annie Oakley (1935 film)|Annie Oakley]]'' (1935), played by [[Chief Thunderbird]]<ref>{{TCMDb title|id=1313|title=Annie Oakley }}</ref>
* ''[[Annie Get Your Gun (film)|Annie Get Your Gun]]'' (1950), played by [[J. Carrol Naish]]<ref>{{TCMDb title|1200|Annie Get Your Gun }}</ref>
* ''[[Sitting Bull (film)|Sitting Bull]]'' (1954), with J. Carrol Naish again in the title role<ref>{{TCMDb title|id=17315 }}</ref>
* ''[[Cheyenne (1955 TV series)|Cheyenne]]'' (1957), with [[Frank DeKova]] as Sitting Bull<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://purehistory.org/cheyenne-1955-tv-series/ |title=Cheyenne (1955 TV series) |last=Walker |first=Lawrence |date=September 5, 2015 |website=PureHistory |language=en-US |access-date=December 13, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225094208/https://purehistory.org/cheyenne-1955-tv-series/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson]]'' (1976), played by Frank Kaquitts<ref>{{AFI film|id=55830|title=Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Sitting Bull's History Lesson }}</ref>
* ''[[Crazy Horse (1996 film)|Crazy Horse]]'' (1995), Sitting Bull is played by English, Mohawk and Swiss-German actor [[August Schellenberg]], who said it was his favorite role.
* ''[[Buffalo Girls (miniseries)|Buffalo Girls]]'' (1995 miniseries), played by [[Russell Means]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.buffalosfire.com/russell-means-timeline/ |title=Russell Means timeline |date=November 2, 2012 |website=Buffalo’s Fire |language=en-US |access-date=December 13, 2018 |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215225716/http://www.buffalosfire.com/russell-means-timeline/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Heritage Minutes|Heritage Minute]]: Sitting Bull'' (Canadian 60-second short film),  played by [[Graham Greene (actor)|Graham Greene]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/sitting-bull |title=Heritage Minute: Sitting Bull |publisher=Historica Canada |access-date=April 23, 2023 |archive-date=April 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427194143/https://www.historicacanada.ca/content/heritage-minutes/sitting-bull |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Into the West (miniseries)|Into the West]]'' (2005 miniseries), played by [[Eric Schweig]]<ref>{{TV Guide show|191579|Into the West }}</ref>
* ''Sitting Bull: A Stone in My Heart'' (2006), documentary<ref>[http://www.lillimar.com/Site/SITTING_BULL__A_STONE_IN_MY_HEART_DOCUMENTARY_FILM_AND_DVD_ON_LAKOTA_AMERICAN_INDIAN_CHIEF.html SITTING BULL: A Stone in my Heart] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109122051/http://www.lillimar.com/site/SITTING_BULL__A_STONE_IN_MY_HEART_DOCUMENTARY_FILM_AND_DVD_ON_LAKOTA_AMERICAN_INDIAN_CHIEF.html |date=November 9, 2013 }}, Lillimar Pictures</ref>
* ''[[Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (film)|Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee]]'' (2007), played by [[August Schellenberg]]{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
* ''[[Woman Walks Ahead]]'' (2017), played by [[Michael Greyeyes]]<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-michael-greyeyes-woman-walks-ahead-20180621-story.html |title=As Sitting Bull in 'Woman Walks Ahead,' Michael Greyeyes continues to educate through Native roles |last=Kaufman |first=Amy |date=June 21, 2018 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=December 13, 2018 |archive-date=December 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216055711/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-michael-greyeyes-woman-walks-ahead-20180621-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

As time passed, Sitting Bull has become a symbol and archetype of Native American resistance movements as well as a figure celebrated by descendants of his former enemies:

* [[Legoland Billund]], in Billund, [[Denmark]], the first [[Legoland]] park, contains a 36-foot-tall Lego sculpture of Sitting Bull.<ref name="The New York Times 2013">{{cite web |title=In 'Art of the Brick,' Nathan Sawaya Works With Lego |website=The New York Times |date=June 13, 2013 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/arts/design/in-art-of-the-brick-nathan-sawaya-works-with-lego.html |access-date=December 13, 2020 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411023356/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/arts/design/in-art-of-the-brick-nathan-sawaya-works-with-lego.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Sitting Bull is featured as the leader for the Native American Civilization in the computer game ''[[Civilization IV]]''.<ref>{{citation |title=Sid Meier's Civilization IV |publisher=IGN Entertainment |url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/654/654463p1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030085713/http://pc.ign.com/articles/654/654463p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 30, 2005}}.</ref>
* Sitting Bull is listed as one of 13 great Americans in President [[Barack Obama]]'s children's book, [[Of Thee I Sing (book)|''Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters'']].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8138576/Barack-Obama-releases-childrens-book-Of-Thee-I-Sing.html |title=Barack Obama releases children's book ''Of Thee I Sing'' |access-date=December 17, 2010 |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Alex |last=Spillius |date=November 16, 2010 |archive-date=November 19, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119022559/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8138576/Barack-Obama-releases-childrens-book-Of-Thee-I-Sing.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Crazy Horse]]
* [[Black Elk]]
* [[Henry Mabb]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* Documentary: ''Sitting Bull: A Stone in My Heart'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20131109122051/http://www.lillimar.com/site/SITTING_BULL__A_STONE_IN_MY_HEART_DOCUMENTARY_FILM_AND_DVD_ON_LAKOTA_AMERICAN_INDIAN_CHIEF.html], 82 minutes
* {{wikicite|id=idBailey1979|reference=Bailey, John W. ''Pacifying the Plains: General Alfred Terry and the Decline of the Sioux, 1866–1890''.  Westport, Conn.: [[Greenwood Press]], 1979.}}
* {{wikicite|id=idBarker1994|reference=Barker, Barbara. "Imre Kiralfy's Patriotic Spectacles: "Columbus, and the Discovery of America" (1892–1893) and "America" (1893)." ''Dance Chronicle''.  Vol. 17, no. 2 (1994).}}
* Greene, Jerome A., ed. ''Lakota and Cheyenne: Indian Views of the Great Sioux War, 1876–1877''.  Norman, Okla.: [[University of Oklahoma Press]], 1994.
* {{wikicite|id=idLazarus|reference=[[Edward Lazarus|Lazarus, Edward]]. ''Black Hills White Justice: The Sioux Nation versus the United States, 1775 to the Present''.  New York: [[HarperCollins]], 1991.}}
* Matteoni, Norman E. ''Prairie Man: The Struggle between Sitting Bull and Indian Agent James McLaughlin''.  Guilford, Conn., 2015
* McLaughlin, James. ''[https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/sbarrest.htm Account of the Death of Sitting Bull and of the Circumstances Attending It] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901111838/http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/eight/sbarrest.htm |date=September 1, 2017 }}''.  Philadelphia, 1891.
* {{wikicite|id=idMooney|reference=[[James Mooney|Mooney, James]]. (Abridged version) ''The Ghost-Dance Religion and the Sioux Outbreak of 1890''.  Originally published as Part 2 of the ''Fourteenth Annual Report of the [[Bureau of Ethnology]] to the Secretary of the [[Smithsonian Institution]], 1892–93,'' Washington: [[United States Government Printing Office|GPO]], 1896. Abridged version publication information: Edited by [[Anthony F. C. Wallace]]. Chicago: [[University of Chicago Press]], 1965.}}
* "[https://www.nytimes.com/1953/12/19/archives/sitting-bull-rises-again-2-indians-deny-bones-of-chief-were-taken.html Sitting Bull Rises Again&nbsp;– Two Indians Deny Bones of Chief Were Taken to South Dakota.] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722100402/https://www.nytimes.com/1953/12/19/archives/sitting-bull-rises-again-2-indians-deny-bones-of-chief-were-taken.html |date=July 22, 2018 }}" ''[[The New York Times]]''.  December 19, 1953.
* {{wikicite|id=idPrairiePublic|reference=[[Prairie Public Radio]]. ''[http://www.pol.org/programs/datebook/bydate/04/0904/090304.jsp Dakota Datebook]''.  September 3, 2004.}}
* {{wikicite|id=idUSPS|reference=[[United States Postal Service]], [http://www.usps.com/postalhistory/_rtf/AmerInd.rtf Postal Service Listing of American Indian Stamps].}}
* {{wikicite|id=idUtley1993|reference=[[Robert Utley|Utley, Robert M.]] ''The Lance and the Shield: The Life and Times of Sitting Bull''.  1st ed. New York: [[Henry Holt and Company]], 1993.}}
* {{wikicite|id=idUtley1973|reference=Utley, Robert M. ''Frontier Regulars: The United States Army and the Indian, 1866–1891''.  New York: [[Macmillan Publishers]], 1973.}}
* {{wikicite|id=idStandingBear|reference=[[Luther Standing Bear|Standing Bear, Luther.]] (Reprint) ''My People the Sioux''.  Lincoln: [[University of Nebraska Press]], 1975.}}
* {{wikicite|id=idNLD|reference=[[Jan Ullrich|Ullrich, Jan]] ''New Lakota Dictionary''.  Lakota Language Consortium, 2008.}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* Nelson, Paul D., {{"'}}A shady Pair' and an 'attempt on his life' – Sitting Bull and His 1884 visit to St. Paul", ''Ramsey County History Quarterly'' V38 #1, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080510142531/http://www.rchs.com/index.htm Ramsey County Historical Society], St Paul, MN, 2003.
* Adams, Alexander B. ''Sitting Bull: An Epic of the Plains''.  New York: [[G. P. Putnam's Sons]], 1973.
* [[Dee Brown (writer)|Brown, Dee]]. ''[[Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee]]: An Indian History of the American West''.  New York: [[Henry Holt and Company|Holt, Rinehart and Winston]], 1970.
* DeWall, Robb. ''The Saga of Sitting Bull's Bones: The Unusual Story Behind Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski's Memorial to Chief Sitting Bull''.  Crazy Horse, S.D.: Korczak's Heritage, 1984.
* Manzione, Joseph. ''"I Am Looking to the North for My Life": Sitting Bull: 1876–1881''.  Salt Lake City: [[University of Utah Press]], 1991.
* Newson, Thomas McLean. ''[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/History Thrilling scenes among the Indians, with a graphic description of Custer's last fight with Sitting Bull] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225094235/https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AHistory |date=December 25, 2021 }}''.  Chicago: Belford, Clarke and Co., 1884.
* "[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1876/07/07/84623477.pdf Confirmation of the Disaster] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707195225/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1876/07/07/84623477.pdf |date=July 7, 2021 }}." ''[[The New York Times]]''.  July 7, 1876.
* "[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1890/12/17/103286727.pdf The Death of Sitting Bull] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707195221/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1890/12/17/103286727.pdf |date=July 7, 2021 }}." ''The New York Times''.  December 17, 1890.
* "[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1890/12/16/106045235.pdf The Last of Sitting Bull] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707195220/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1890/12/16/106045235.pdf |date=July 7, 2021 }}." ''The New York Times''.  December 16, 1890.
* [[Marcus Albert Reno|Reno, Marcus Albert]]. ''[http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/History The official record of a court of inquiry convened at Chicago, Illinois, January 13, 1879, by the President of the United States upon the request of Major Marcus A. Reno, 7th U.S. Cavalry, to investigate his conduct at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, June 25–26, 1876] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225094221/https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AHistory |date=December 25, 2021 }}''.  (Reprint online) Pacific Palisades, Calif.: 1951.
* Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who's Who In The Civil War''.  New York: Facts on File Publishing, 1988.
* Urwin, Gregory. ''Custer Victorious: The Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer''.  Lincoln, Neb.: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1990.
* Utley, Robert M. ''The Last Days of the Sioux Nation''.  New Haven, Conn.: [[Yale University Press]], 1963.
* Utley, Robert M. ''Sitting Bull: The Life and Times of an American Patriot''
* Yenne, Bill. "Sitting Bull." Yardley, PA: Westholme, 2008.
* [[Stanley Vestal|Vestal, Stanley]]. ''Sitting Bull: Champion of the Sioux, a Biography''.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1932.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons|Sitting Bull}}
{{Wikiquote|Sitting Bull}}
{{EB1911 poster|Sitting Bull}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Sitting Bull |sopt=t}}
* {{OL author|248131A}}
* [http://collections.si.edu/search/results.jsp?view=&dsort=&date.slider=&q=Sitting+Bull+drawing+-%22Four+Horns%22&fq=online_visual_material%3Atrue Sitting Bull's ledger drawings] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227093214/http://collections.si.edu/search/results.jsp?view=&dsort=&date.slider=&q=Sitting+Bull+drawing+-%22Four+Horns%22&fq=online_visual_material:true |date=February 27, 2012 }}, Smithsonian Institution
* [http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/anth/?irn=8419240 Sitting Bull's Winchester], Catalogue No. E384119, Department of Anthropology, NMNH, Smithsonian Institution
* [https://archive.today/20121221002756/http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/sittingbull.htm "Sitting Bull"], ''The West'', PBS
* {{Cite Appletons'|wstitle=Sitting Bull|year=1900 |short=x |notaref=x}}

{{Wild West}}
{{Native Americans in the Black Hills}}
{{Black Hills, South Dakota}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitting Bull}}
[[Category:Sitting Bull| ]]
[[Category:1830s births]]
[[Category:1890 deaths]]
[[Category:People murdered in 1890]]
[[Category:19th-century people from South Dakota]]
[[Category:19th-century Native American leaders]]
[[Category:American animists]]
[[Category:American refugees]]
[[Category:Battle of the Little Bighorn]]
[[Category:Canada–United States relations]]
[[Category:First Nations history in Canada]]
[[Category:Folk healers]]
[[Category:Hunkpapa people]]
[[Category:Indigenous leaders in Saskatchewan]]
[[Category:Lakota leaders]]
[[Category:Murdered Native American people]]
[[Category:Native American people of the Indian Wars]]
[[Category:People of the Great Sioux War of 1876]]
[[Category:People murdered by law enforcement officers in the United States]]
[[Category:People murdered in South Dakota]]
[[Category:People shot dead by law enforcement officers in South Dakota]]
[[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:Post-Confederation Canada (1867–1914)]]
[[Category:Pre-Confederation Saskatchewan people]]
[[Category:Refugees in Canada]]
[[Category:Religious figures of the Indigenous peoples of North America]]
[[Category:Wild West show performers]]
[[Category:Native American people from South Dakota]]