Journey to Pine Ridge, 1871 to 1900::

'Sitting Bull's War': 1876 to 1877

Large, well-organised groups of white settlers and gold prospectors began entering the Black Hills. There, they "laid out towns, organized local governments, and began to demand that the troops protect them from the Indians on whose lands they were trespassing" (Hyde 1937:249).¹ The Grant administration reacted by demanding that all hostile Sioux come in to the various Sioux agencies by a specified date.

The deadline date for assembly at the Sioux agencies was given as 31 January 1876. Word reached the agency Sioux around Christmas and agency runners were then sent out to the wilder bands roving north. There was hardly sufficient time for the Indians to arrange to move. Moreover, the winter that year was incredibly harsh and many Sioux failed to be delivered of the message in time. The severe weather conditions also made some Sioux leaders, such as Crazy Horse who was camped out near Bear Butte at the time, report back that for the time being they could not make the journey. In reality, he and Sitting Bull moved their bands further north.

Though Red Cloud was in favour of a war against the whites, in favour of supporting the northern Sioux hostiles, his agency Indians were not so keen and tried to restrain him. As a result, Red Cloud's "hostility went no further than talk" (Hyde 1937:260) - something Red Cloud later regretted.

Meanwhile, the northern Sioux were preparing for war. They defeated the US at the Battle of the Rosebud in 1876. That same year, Sitting Bull, Gall, Crazy Horse and their bands successfully defeated and killed Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Afterwards, these Lakota Sioux left the Little Bighorn for the seclusion of the mountains and freedom from the annoyances of military presence. Crazy Horse moved west and Sitting Bull pressed north, pursued by troops, eventually crossing into Canada. Other Sioux leaders led their bands towards the Yellowstone River.

• 1 - George Hyde. 1937. Red Cloud's Folk: A History of the Oglala Sioux Indians. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

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