Notes on History on Fire - Crazy Horse Part 1

Introduction

  • Daniele Boleli introduces the episode, highlighting themes of bravery, wisdom, passion, and emotionally intense moments in history. He dedicates this episode to the memory of James Weddell (Ishta Topaikakopi), emphasizing loyalty, generosity, and bravery.

Sponsors

  • Geek Nation Tours:
    • Offers tours to historical battlefields, including those discussed in the upcoming episodes (particularly in February).
    • Aims to bring like-minded individuals together to explore heroic action and human passion in extreme circumstances. (www.geeknationtours.com)
  • Datsusara and Onnit:
    • Regular sponsors who have significantly supported the podcast.
    • Onnit.com/history: Provides excellent supplements and workout gear with an automatic discount.
    • Dsgear.com: Offers computer bags, backpacks, and other gear made with hemp; use the code "daniele" at checkout for a discount.
    • Links to all sponsors are available in the episode notes at historyonfirepodcast.com.

Crazy Horse: A Lakota Tragedy

  • Introduction to Crazy Horse:
    • Described as a rare individual for whom the phrase "larger than life" seems appropriate.
    • His life embodies profound heroism and bravery, coupled with deep tragedy, fitting the mold of a Lakota tragedy.
  • Crazy Horse as an Individual:
    • An introvert and the "strong silent type," contrasting with the machismo often present in Lakota culture.
    • Soft-spoken, avoiding flamboyant decorations and self-promotion, making him easy to overlook, except in battle.
    • Renowned for fearless behavior, charging into enemy lines to rescue wounded friends.

Lakota Culture: Counting Coup

  • Counting Coup Tradition:
    • Warriors tracked statistics of brave deeds, gaining recognition for specific actions.
    • Counting coup included touching an enemy in battle, stealing horses from enemy tribes, and various other brave deeds.
    • Touching an enemy was considered braver than killing from a distance, demonstrating face-to-face courage.
  • Crazy Horse's Achievements:
    • Considered to have counted more than 200 coups, surpassing even the most renowned Lakota leaders (Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, Sitting Bull).
    • Known for bravery and generosity, playing key roles in major defeats of the US Army.
    • Remains a symbol of resistance for the Lakota people, especially in the struggle to retain the Black Hills.
    • Refused to get entangled in political dealings, embodying uncompromising principles.

Lakota Perceptions of Crazy Horse

  • Lucille Runs After:
    • Great-granddaughter of Longhorn, a kinsman of Crazy Horse.
    • Described Crazy Horse as an outstanding, almost magical person who brought happiness.
  • Nicholas Black Elk:
    • Called Crazy Horse the "greatest chief of all."
  • Guy Dall Knife:
    • Noted that Crazy Horse always led the war party, taking the initial volley of shots to allow warriors behind him to aim.
    • Praised his modesty, humility, and love for his people and homeland.

Crazy Horse: A Complex Figure

  • Strange and Weird:
    • Despite reverence, Crazy Horse was considered strange or weird, a common trait among legends.
    • Black Elk described Crazy Horse as often inviting him (when Black Elk was a child) to chat but remaining silent, creating a sense of fear and awe.
  • Black Elk's Description:
    • Crazy Horse was a "weird man" who often didn't notice people in the village.
    • He joked in his tipi or on the warpath to make warriors feel good but rarely spoke to others.
    • He avoided dances and singing but had the respect and loyalty of his people.
    • Physically, he was small, slender, with a thin face and penetrating eyes, seeming always deep in thought.
    • He owned few possessions and would go without food when game was scarce.
  • Guy Del Knife's Account:
    • Crazy Horse was often seen alone in the evenings, sitting in the hills or at the edge of camp.

Tragedy and Loss

  • Heartbreaking Losses:
    • Crazy Horse experienced numerous heartbreaking losses throughout his life, losing many loved ones.
    • His story echoes the Game of Thrones line: "What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love?"
    • He witnessed the death of relatives, friends, and the destruction of his way of life.
  • Kingsley Bray's Description:
    • Crazy Horse was profoundly scarred by personal tragedy and loss, leading to melancholy and reticence.
    • He channeled his pain into orgies of blood, directed toward his enemies.

Sources and Reliability

  • Challenges in Studying Crazy Horse's Life:
    • Limited reliable sources, relying heavily on Lakota oral tradition.
    • The last four months of his life were documented by white Americans, but earlier life details are speculative.
    • Mary Sandoz's biography is influential but blends fact with fiction, taking liberties with details.
  • Other Sources:
    • DVD series by Crazy Horse's family members offers traditions passed within their family.
    • Kingsley Bray compiled primary sources into a biography.
  • Lack of Visual Records:
    • No confirmed photographs of Crazy Horse exist, unlike many other American Indian leaders.
    • Descriptions suggest average height and weight, lighter skin and hair color, and restless eyes.

Episode Focus

  • Beyond Biography:
    • The series explores the conflict between the Lakota people and the United States from the 1850s to the 1870s.
    • The initial episode contains material about this broader context.
  • Terminology:
    • Interchangeable use of terms like "Indian," "American Indian," "Native American," "indigenous people," and "First Nations," all of which are generalizations.
  • Stereotypes:
    • Avoidance of idealized portrayals of Native Americans or racist worldviews.
    • Emphasis on portraying Native Americans as complex human beings.
  • Tribal Affiliations:
    • Lakota, Dakota, Nakota are general terms; Crazy Horse belonged to the Oglala Lakota.
    • The term "Sioux" comes from a derogatory Ojibwa term.

Lakota Culture: Transformation on the Great Plains

  • Historical Background:
    • Lakota originally lived in woodlands in the eastern portion of North America before being pushed west by tribes like the Cree and Ojibwa.
    • Adoption of horses in the Great Plains led to a cultural transformation in the early 1700s.
  • Shift to Nomadic Buffalo Hunting:
    • Lakota transitioned from farming to full-time nomadic buffalo hunters.
    • This equestrian, buffalo-hunting lifestyle, often depicted in Hollywood, was a product of Euro-American colonization and the introduction of the horse.
  • Unique Hunting-Gathering Lifestyle:
    • Lakota lifestyle was described as hunter-gatherers on steroids, with larger villages and the ability to amass more resources due to horses.
    • Villages consisted of 150-400 people, and camps could include thousands.
    • Intertribal warfare was common with tribes like the Hidatsa, Harikra, Mandan, Pony, Omaha, Crow, Shoshone, and Blackfeet.

Crazy Horse: Early Life and Influences

  • Birth and Naming Traditions:
    • Born around 1840 in western South Dakota.
    • Native naming traditions involved a childhood name and later acquiring an adult name with significant meaning.
    • Crazy Horse was initially nicknamed "Curly" or "Curly Hair" because of his wavy hair.
  • Early Tragedy: Death of His Mother:
    • Details differ, but Crazy Horse's mother, Rattle Blanket Woman, died by hanging herself from a cottonwood tree when he was four years old.
    • Possible reasons include accusations of infidelity or conflict over his father's polygamy. Regardless, the event traumatized him.
  • Psychological Impact:
    • Curly hardly spoke for three years, showing signs of psychological regression.
    • He sought solitude, riding his horse alone in the hills, beginning a pattern of seeking solitude in his life.

Key Figures in Crazy Horse's Early Life

  • High Backbone (or Hump):
    • Likely his mother's brother (uncle) or some other relative.
    • A renowned hunter and warrior who mentored Curly, teaching him scouting, hunting, and survival skills.
  • Unpleasant Experience: Eating Turtle's Heart:
    • Crazy Horse the elder forced Curly to kill a turtle and eat its still-beating heart as a toughening experience.
  • Honka Relationship with Horn Chips:
    • Met Horn Chips in a Mina Conjo camp, becoming Honka to each other (a relationship stronger than blood family).
    • The Honka ceremony involved mutual obligations, support, and protection.
  • Little Hawk: Brotherly Bond:
    • Little Hawk may be a younger brother to Crazy Horse. Whether not a brother, grew up together.
    • Curly took Little Hawk under his wing, teaching him and protecting him.

The Changing World: The Impact from the Increased US Expansion

  • Rapid Changes in the 1840s-50s:
    • The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) and the California Gold Rush (1849) led to increased contact with white Americans.
  • Initial Friendly Relations:
    • Lakota allowed settlers to travel through their land, receiving gifts in exchange.
  • Negative Consequences:
    • Settlers' cows spread diseases to bison, diminishing their population.
    • Cows consumed grass, changing migratory patterns of bison and increasing intertribal conflicts.
    • Settlers used firewood, a scarce resource, and brought diseases that Native Americans had not been exposed to before.
  • Impact on Crazy Horse's Family:
    • Four of Crazy Horse's stepsisters died from a cholera epidemic shortly after 1849.

The Fort Laramie Treaty and Broken Promises

  • The Great Council of 1851:
    • The US government organized the largest council with tribes across the Great Plains.
    • The government promised supplies in exchange for allowing settlers to travel through and for ceasing intertribal warfare.
  • Failure to Meet Obligations:
    • The US government failed to deliver promised supplies, leading to increased tension.
    • The quality of Lakota lifestyle declined, with more disruption to buffalo herds.
  • Escalating Tensions:
    • By 1853, some Lakota started harassing settlers, demanding more goods for passage.

Fort Laramie 1854 and the Start of War Between United States and Lakota

  • Initial Incident:
    • Lakota warriors stole a boat used by migrants to cross a river.
    • Soldiers warned them against it, but the Lakota repeated the act, leading to a confrontation.
  • Escalation:
    • A Lakota fired a shot at soldiers, leading to a shootout in which three Lakota were killed and two were captured.
    • Lakota leaders convinced the villagers not to retaliate against the soldiers, but that some attacked a group of settlers nearby.
  • Reduced supplies intensifies tensions
  • The Gratton Fight/Massacre (August 1854):
    • Conflict began when a Lakota named High Forehead killed a stray cow belonging to Mormon settlers.
    • Though, the chief offered horses to resolve the issue the lieutenant was not having it.
    • Lieutenant John Gratton, with 29 soldiers and a drunk interpreter, went to the Lakota village to arrest High Forehead.
      War is on, with a soldier's death
  • Conquering Bear mediates at first
  • The camp is filled with thousand of Lakota
  • The interpreter's insults and Gratton's inflexibility escalated tensions.
  • Gratton's forces opened fire, killing Conquering Bear and several others.
    *The Lakota retaliated, killing Grattan and all his soldiers, plus the interpreter, who was found out after and had his tongue cut off. His unit was ambushed.
    The opening bell had rung, after 20 years the US and Lakota were at it.

The Vision Quest: Seeking Spiritual Guidance

  • Crazy Horse's Vision Quest:
    • Following the Grattan fight, Crazy Horse went on a vision quest seeking spiritual guidance. (according to Mary Sandoz, alternative sources state vision quest happened at different times).
  • Vision Quest as a Religious Ritual:
    • Vision questing is an ancient religious ceremony practiced globally, characterized by isolation, fasting, and prayer, to alter the body to make contact with spirituality.
  • Examples in Major Religions:
    • Christianity: Jesus spends 40 days fasting and praying in the desert.
    • Buddhism: Buddha achieves enlightenment through meditation and fasting under the body tree and achieved Nirvana.
    • Islam: Muhammad isolates himself in a cave fasting and praying which lead to him hearing the voice of God and giving him the Quran.
  • The vision itself:
    • During the vision, it is said Crazy Horse saw a red-tailed hawk (one of his animals that showed up in his dreams) and Thunder Beings.
      Heioca and the standards of society
    • Since Crazy Horse saw Thunder Beings, it makes Crazy Horse, a heioca. Someone who walks backwards through a society. Doing absurd things and being crazy in the face of a group of folks.

The vision of Horse Spirit and not being defeated

  • The Lake Spirit: Prophecies and Directives:
    • Crazy Horse also interacted with the spirits of the lake or water spirits.
    • He was told to not wear a war bonnet, with eagle feather, in return for never being killed in battle.
    • He was told how to act, what to wear and how to paint his body with the thunder beings.
    • This lake spirit told him he would die as his own people would be holding him in return for being undefeated on the field.
    • This turned to be true, Crazy Horse was only ever stabbed by someone who was holding him back, when the others had a weapon.

The United States Strikes Back and Burns the Land

  • Sun Creek Massacre:
    *The Government demands to strike and get back at someone.
    Harney leads 600 men as retribution to the death of Grattan.
    *There was to be be no negotiation with the leaders, kill the Natives because they had the blood of the army on his hands
    Harni sets up his unit and waits to strike
    *Most of the unit was women and children
  • The man was beaten to death, as they were known for beating to death slave women as well. He had the same treatment. No exceptions.
    *Harney lost the trust from all the natives at the time.
    *The men took the captured to Fort Laramie and raped the captured women and handed them out to men with the most pretty in a pecking order of rape.
    *A lot of families and friends captured among the survivors.
    *Spurred a legacy and brought out the tribal warfare, which in return the army was trying to stifle.

Crazy Horse Starts his path

  • Crazy horse begins to learn how to kill as a tribe member during this time.
  • He was named