Notes on Crazy Horse and the Conflict Between the US and the Tribes on the Great Plains

Introduction

  • Daniele Boleli introduces this as the final episode of the Crazy Horse series, focusing on the conflict between the U.S. and the tribes on the Great Plains.

  • The episode is dedicated to the memory of James Weddle (Ichta Topa Igakopi).

  • Sponsors: Geek Nation Tours, Datsusara, and Onnit.com.

Flawed Writings About American Indians

  • Most writings are flawed:

    • Romanticized image of native peoples as perfect.

    • Racist stereotypes disguised as scholarship.

  • Both distort history to fit their agenda.

  • Natives are people with virtues and vices.

  • Some Lakota characters in this story are despicable.

Nietzsche Quote

  • A quote from Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra is used to describe Crazy Horse's situation.

  • Relates to Crazy Horse being surrounded by small, envious men.

  • Nietzsche: "Flee into your solitude… You have lived too closely to the small and pitiable men."

Crazy Horse's Downfall

  • Crazy Horse's downfall wasn't in battle, but due to jealousy and pettiness.

  • Small men couldn't tolerate Crazy Horse's greatness.

  • They focused on bringing him down through guile instead of improving themselves.

Aftermath of Little Bighorn

  • The greatest camp in Plains Indians history broke up after the Battle of Little Bighorn.

  • The victory didn't change the tribes' situation.

  • Bison were disappearing, and the army was still chasing them.

  • Less time to find dwindling food supplies made the situation dire.

US Response to Custer's Defeat

  • News of Custer's defeat spread during the U.S. centennial celebrations (July 1876).

  • Public outcry for revenge led Congress to open its purse.

  • General Sheridan gained authorization to take charge of Lakota reservations and received more funding.

Coercion of Lakotas on Reservations

  • On 09/06/1876, a commission arrived at Lakota agencies demanding they sign away the Black Hills and hunting rights.

  • The army threatened removal to the Missouri River or Oklahoma.

  • "Sell or starve" policy: Lakotas had to agree or starve due to dependence on U.S. government assistance.

Crazy Horse's Raids

  • Crazy Horse continued resistance, raiding in the Black Hills alone.

  • He would sleep high in the peaks without fire and attack miners at dawn or dusk.

  • He would rebury any gold he found in miners' pockets inside the Black Hills.

  • These symbolic acts were futile but showed Crazy Horse's continued resistance.

General Crook's Campaign

  • General Crook, after the Battle of the Rosebud, searched for hostile camps.

  • Troops ran out of food, some killing mules to eat.

  • Captain Mills sent ahead to Deadwood to buy food on credit.

Battle of Slim Buttes

  • September 9: Mills ran into a camp of 37 Lakota lodges at Slim Buttes.

  • Mills attacked against the advice of other officers.

  • Surprise attack successful; many Lakota fled towards Crazy Horse's camp.

  • Chief American Horse the Elder and his family retreated to a ravine.

  • American Horse sent for help from Crazy Horse.

  • General Crook arrived before Crazy Horse, changing the odds.

  • Crook destroyed supplies and captured horses.

Discovery of Custer Battlefield Items

  • Uniforms, mail, and flags from Custer's battlefield were found in the camp.

  • A little Lakota girl was found screaming for her mom.

  • Captain Mills offered her food, and she followed him.

Mills' Crisis of Conscience

  • The girl recognized her dead mother, causing Mills a crisis of conscience.

  • Mills considered adopting her, saying, "I would adopt this little girl as I had slain her mother."

  • He realized his wife wouldn't accept the social condemnation.

Ravine Attack

  • Crook ordered his men to fire at will into the ravine.

  • Women and children were screaming, and Lakota warriors were singing death songs.

  • Crook offered the women and children unarmed surrender.

  • American Horse and some others refused to surrender.

  • Fighting resumed with Spartan courage, according to a war correspondent.

American Horse's Surrender and Death

  • American Horse surrendered, stipulating that his warriors' lives be spared.

  • He came out holding his bowels in his hands, having been badly shot.

  • He shook hands with soldiers without complaint.

  • He refused morphine, biting on a stick instead.

  • He died a few hours later, cheerful to the end.

Crazy Horse's Arrival and the Battle's Aftermath

  • Crazy Horse arrived with warriors, facing Crook's entire command.

  • They sniped at each other, but the battle was uneventful.

  • Lakota freed most of the captives.

  • Crook retreated to the Black Hills.

  • The Battle of Slim Buttes boosted morale but wasn't a major victory.

Celebrations in the Black Hills

  • Killing an Indian was rare, and Deadwood would "go crazy with delight."

  • Skulls and scalps were paraded and sold at public auction.

Lakota and Cheyenne Scouts

  • Lakota and Cheyenne from Red Cloud Agency acted as spies for Crook.

  • They reported village movements and promoted surrender.

  • Some saw them as sellouts, others as patriots trying to end the war and spare their people's suffering, and protect remaining reservation land.

Attack on Cheyenne Village

  • November 1876: Crook attacked a Cheyenne village in Wyoming with over 173 lodges.

  • A medicine man had a dream of attack, but Last Bull insisted on celebrating a raid against Shoshone.

  • Soldiers attacked at dawn.

  • The gray light seeped into the canyon when the charge came, and rifles and pistols broke out into a song of death.

  • Cheyenne fled, but soldiers burned supplies.

Cheyenne's Escape

  • 700 horses were divided among army scouts.

  • Cheyenne fled with nothing in freezing weather.

  • Babies died of cold during the 11-day march.

  • Horses were killed, and babies were placed inside to keep warm.

Arrival at Crazy Horse's Camp

  • After eleven days, the Cheyenne reached Crazy Horse's camp, which itself lacked supplies.

Failed Negotiations with General Miles

  • General Miles attempted to negotiate with Crazy Horse.

  • Crow scouts killed Lakota negotiators, recognizing a horse as belonging to a slain wife.

  • Miles dismissed the scouts, but negotiations failed.

Crazy Horse's Desperation

  • The remaining free Lakota and Cheyenne had little time to hunt.

  • Crazy Horse cracked down on dissent, threatening those who tried to leave.

  • He shot their horses, took their weapons, and forced them to return.

  • These heavy-handed tactics alienated some of his people.

Raid for Horses and Battle of Wolf Mountains

  • Crazy Horse launched a raid, stealing over 150 horses from General Miles' troops to induce an ambush.

  • The chase went on for almost 100 miles.

  • On 01/08/1877, the Battle of Wolf Mountains occurred but was inconclusive.

Sitting Bull's Visit and Split

  • January 15: Sitting Bull visited Crazy Horse, but there wasn't enough food to sustain the camp together.

  • Sitting Bull wanted to escape to Canada.

  • Crazy Horse wanted to stay on the hunting grounds, stating, "The soldiers are everywhere… This is the end. Someday I shall be killed."

  • The split was friendly but melancholic; their last meeting.

Surrender Negotiations

  • Defections continued despite Crazy Horse's position.

  • Crazy Horse said, "I'll do whatever the rest of my tribe wants to do."

  • General Crook feared General Miles would claim victory by convincing Crazy Horse to surrender.

  • Crook offered wild concessions off the record and told him to make a better peace deal, where they would keep their horses and get a separate reservation.

Black Elk's Account

  • Black Elk and his family, on their way to surrender, found Crazy Horse alone and "weirder than ever."

  • Black Elk: "There are caves and holes for me to live in, and out here the spirits may help me."

  • Crazy Horse was vision questing, trying to find a way out.

Crazy Horse's Surrender

  • Due to his wife's tuberculosis, Crazy Horse was closer to surrendering.

  • After Crook's promises, Crazy Horse led his people to surrender in May 1877.

  • Over 900 people surrendered and paraded into Camp Robinson, singing.

  • The New York Times reported it looked like a victory celebration.

  • Crazy Horse gave his war shirt to Chief Red Cloud, symbolizing the end of his war leadership, and shook hands with Lieutenant William Clark.

  • Sitting Bull and his people crossed into Canada.

Description of Crazy Horse

  • Susan Thackett described Crazy Horse as a handsome young man of about 36, not so dark, hazel eyes, nice light brown hair, above medium height, and slender.

Crook's Deception

  • Crook planned to leave it up to the President to deny the many promises that he made to Crazy Horse.

  • The War Department often ignored promises made by officers in the field, making it impossible for Indians to trust Americans.

  • Crook made two promises that he couldn't keep, Crazy Horse could get his own reservation in the North and promising a forty day buffalo hunt late in summer.

Life on the Reservation

  • Early going didn't look so bad. A doctor came to visit Black Scholl, Crazy Horse's wife.

  • Crazy Horse tried to assimilate, asking to be taught how to use a fork and knife.

  • The free Lakota got sick from the rich food on the reservation (unused to flour, sugar, and other commodities).

Crazy Horse as a Scout

  • Many were recruited as scouts.

  • The chain of command went from Clark (Crook's representative) to Captain Randall to Red Cloud, Spotted Tail, and Crazy Horse.

  • Spotted Tail was bossy, so some of the Mene Conju branch of the Lakota switched and claimed Crazy Horse as their chief making Spotted Tail jealous.

  • Generals Sheridan and Sherman told Crook that crazy horse was not going get his own separate reservation, and wanted crazy horse, and some of his key allies wanted to be arrested and wanted the whole tribe to be removed to an agency on the Missouri River.

Tensions on the Reservation

  • Crook arrived at Red Cloud agency in late May and promised the Lakota buffalo hunt later in the summer.

  • Crook tried to get along with the Lakota leaders and even sat down and had a big feast where they ate dog, which what was considered a delicacy ,but Crook's subordinate Clark refused to do that because it grossed him out.

  • Said the trip to Washington would have to wait since the president of The United States was too busy at the moment.

  • The promises that were made are beginning to break down which create tension on the reservation.

  • The Interpreter, Billy Garnett, states Crazy Horse had come to the agency with nothing but Honorable Intentions. But nothing was not going to happen.

Rivalries and Division

  • Annoyed with what was going on, Kresiors moved his village north of the White River to show a statement of independence from Red Cloud.

  • Little Big Man, an ally now, got into a fight with Crazy Horse, causing a rift.

  • Agency employees played games, giving Little Big Man food before Crazy Horse.

  • Young Manafraid tried to help Kresi Orsi integrate, while Red Cloud and American Horse wanted to marginalize him.

  • They ordered their warriors to prevent their own people from visiting Crazy Horse's camp.

Fake Battle and Sun Dance

  • A fake battle was organized to commemorate the Custer fight, with agency Indians as Custer's men and Crazy Horse's people as the Lakota, escalating tensions.