In June 1876, a column of United States cavalry rode toward a huge Native camp in Montana. Within a day, one part of that force was gone. About 210 men under George Armstrong Custer were destroyed. The man most people connect with that day was not even in the fight.
This article explains who Sitting Bull was, why the battle happened and how the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors won it. It also covers what happened to Sitting Bull afterward and how you can see the places connected to him today.
Who Was Sitting Bull and Where Is He From?
Sitting Bull was a leader of the Hunkpapa. The Hunkpapa are one branch of the Lakota, and the Lakota are one division of the Sioux.
His Lakota name was Tatáŋka Íyotake. It describes a male bison sitting firmly on its haunches. In Turkish it is Oturan Boğa, and in English, Sitting Bull.
The National Park Service (NPS) places his birth between 1831 and 1837. It puts the place near where the Grand and Missouri rivers meet, in what is now South Dakota. So if you ask where he is from, the answer is the northern Plains along the Missouri.
The exact birth year is uncertain, and the NPS gives a range, not a single date.
Which Tribe Did Sitting Bull Belong To?
The short answer is the Hunkpapa Lakota. Many people say “Sioux” for the whole group. Lakota is the more exact name for his people.
At Little Bighorn, the Lakota did not fight alone. NPS lists Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors on one side. The other side was the US 7th Cavalry Regiment, with Crow and Arikara scouts riding alongside it.
Why the Battle Happened
The path to Little Bighorn began with a treaty. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty created the Great Sioux Reservation for the Lakota. It included the Black Hills. The treaty was signed by Red Cloud. Sitting Bull refused to take part in the negotiations.
Then came 1874. Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills, and his men found gold. Miners poured in, against the terms of the treaty.
The US government then set a deadline. Lakota who had not returned to the reservation by 31 January 1876 would be treated as hostile. That put the government and the Lakota on a collision course.
A Vision in June 1876
The Sun Dance account from June 1876 says that Sitting Bull had a vision. In it, soldiers fell into the Native camp. He took this as a sign of victory.
This matters for understanding his role. Sitting Bull was a political and spiritual leader of the resistance. He was not the battlefield commander.
How the Battle Unfolded
The Battle of the Little Bighorn took place on 25–26 June 1876 in Montana. Here is how it went.
The warning. About a week before Custer’s attack, General George Crook’s force had been stopped at the Rosebud. It had pulled back to Wyoming.
The decision. Custer learned that his column had been noticed. He feared the camp would scatter. So he moved up his planned dawn attack on 26 June.
The split. Custer divided the regiment into four parts:
- his own five companies,
- three companies under Reno,
- three companies under Benteen,
- and the supply column.
Reno’s charge. Major Marcus Reno attacked in the valley, and the attack fell apart. On 25 June, at about 4:00 p.m., the survivors of his three companies reached steep heights to the east.
Custer’s end. Warriors led by Crazy Horse and Gall surrounded Custer’s detachment of about 210 men. By the end of 25 June, all of them were dead.
The survivors. Reno’s and Benteen’s men formed a defensive perimeter and held on. On the morning of 27 June, they saw the approaching forces of Terry and Gibbon.
How Many Warriors Were There?
The sources disagree here, and the disagreement is worth knowing.
NPS estimates about 8,000 people in the camp, with 1,500–1,800 warriors. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln encyclopedia gives 5,000–8,000 people and about 2,000 warriors. It adds that Custer expected no more than 800 warriors.
Take these as estimates. Nobody counted the camp.
Why Custer’s Men Lost
Archaeologist Douglas Scott, writing in the Nebraska encyclopedia, gives two reasons.
First, the warriors combined their numbers with the cover of the terrain. They also moved in small groups.
Second, the soldiers spread out in open skirmish order, as they had been trained to do. That made them easy targets for the warriors’ fire.
Think of crossing a busy station concourse. A crowd moving in tight clusters is hard to track. One person standing alone in an open space is easy to spot. At Little Bighorn, the soldiers were in the open space.
The battle’s last phase is not fully known. NPS says the final movements of Custer’s detachment can only be partly rebuilt. The evidence comes from Native accounts, archaeological finds and the positions of the bodies. The exact course is unknown.
What Sitting Bull Actually Did
Sitting Bull did not take part in the fighting. According to NPS, he sent his nephews White Bull and One Bull into the battle with his spiritual protection.
That is the accurate picture. He was the moral and spiritual center of the camp. Crazy Horse and Gall directed the warriors against Custer.
After the Victory
The win did not end the war. The US increased its military pressure. By spring 1877, most Lakota and Cheyenne had been confined to reservations.
Sitting Bull took a different road. By May 1877, he had led about 400 followers to Saskatchewan in Canada. In 1881, he returned to the US with about 200 followers. At Fort Buford he surrendered their horses and weapons.
He was held at Fort Randall. In May 1883, he was allowed to join his people at Standing Rock.
How Did Sitting Bull Die?
Sitting Bull died on 15 December 1890 at Standing Rock.
James McLaughlin ordered his arrest. McLaughlin feared that Sitting Bull would use his influence to support the Ghost Dance movement. During the attempt to arrest him, a fight broke out. Native police officers Bull Head and Red Tomahawk shot him.
So the man who inspired the resistance at Little Bighorn died fourteen years later in a clash during an arrest.
Sitting Bull Monument in South Dakota
A granite bust of Sitting Bull stands near Mobridge, looking out over the Missouri River. Korczak Ziolkowski carved it. The monument was officially dedicated on 2 September 1953, according to the Smithsonian.
Timeline
- 1831–1837 (approx.): The date range NPS gives for Sitting Bull’s birth.
- 1868: The Fort Laramie Treaty is signed. Sitting Bull does not join the talks.
- 1874: Gold is found on Custer’s Black Hills expedition.
- 31 January 1876: The deadline for the Lakota to return to the reservation passes.
- 25–26 June 1876: The Battle of the Little Bighorn is fought. Custer’s detachment is destroyed.
- May 1877: Sitting Bull and his followers take refuge in Canada.
- 1881: He returns to the US and surrenders his weapons at Fort Buford.
- May 1883: He is allowed to join his people at Standing Rock.
- 1885: He joins Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show for four months.
- 15 December 1890: He is killed during an arrest attempt at Standing Rock.
- 1984: Douglas Scott carries out an extensive metal-detector survey of the battlefield.
Details You Won’t Find in Guidebooks
- A name from his father. At 14, Sitting Bull made his first coup, touching an enemy at close range. After that, he took his father’s name.
- A paid performer. In 1885, he joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show for four months. He received $50 a week. He also kept the right to sell his signature and photographs.
- A fire that helped the archaeologists. A 1983 fire cleared the vegetation at Little Bighorn. That made it easier for Douglas Scott to run a large metal-detector survey in 1984.
- Tracking guns across the field. Scott’s team compared firing-pin marks on cartridge cases. This let them follow the same weapons as they moved across the battlefield. The movements covered up to about 1.6 kilometers.
- A portrait in a museum. The Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas holds an albumen print of Sitting Bull. David Francis Barry took the photograph in Bismarck in 1885.
Visiting the Battlefield
The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument is near Crow Agency in Montana. The park protects the ground where Custer’s detachment fell. NPS also manages the Reno-Benteen defense site, where the surviving soldiers held out until 27 June.
If you plan to go, read the NPS pages first. They will help you tell the Reno-Benteen position apart from the ground where Custer’s men died.
FAQ
Did Sitting Bull fight at Little Bighorn?
No. He did not take part in the actual fighting. He sent his nephews White Bull and One Bull into the battle with his spiritual protection.
Which tribe was Sitting Bull from?
He was a leader of the Hunkpapa, a branch of the Lakota division of the Sioux.
How did Sitting Bull die?
On 15 December 1890, Native police officers Bull Head and Red Tomahawk shot him during a clash at Standing Rock, where agent James McLaughlin had ordered his arrest.
How many soldiers died with Custer?
Custer’s detachment of about 210 men was destroyed on 25 June 1876. The men of Reno and Benteen survived by forming a defensive perimeter.
Where is the Little Bighorn battlefield?
The national monument that protects it is near Crow Agency in Montana.
Sources
- National Park Service — Sitting Bull nps.gov
- National Park Service — Context and Story of the Battle nps.gov
- National Park Service — Reno-Benteen Battlefield home.nps.gov
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln — Little Bighorn, Battle of the plainshumanities.unl.edu
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln — Sitting Bull plainshumanities.unl.edu
- Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center — Sitting Bull aktalakota.stjo.org
- Wikipedia — Sitting Bull en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia — Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument en.wikipedia.org
- Smithsonian Institution — Sitting Bull, sculpture si.edu
- South Dakota History — Wanted: Sitting Bull and His Photographic Portrait sdhspress.com
- Spencer Museum of Art — Portrait of Sitting Bull spencerart.ku.edu
- National Trust for Historic Preservation — Douglas Scott interview savingplaces.org
- Türkçe Vikipedi — Oturan Boğa tr.wikipedia.org
Image: William Notman studios – Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill (1895) edit.jpg — William Notman and Son, Public domain
