Biographie de Sitting Bull (document en anglais)

Born in what is now South Dakota around 1831, Sitting Bull is given the name of Tatanka-Iyotanka (Sitting Bull). He distinguishes himself early in life, killing his first buffalo at ten and taking part in skirmishes at fourteen. He continues to excel in bravery, fortitude, generosity and wisdom. By the 1850s Native Americans begin to feel the pressure of white expansion into the western United States. Some tribes begin to resist. Although there have been many skirmishes and battles throughout the 1860s, there are also many attempts at peace. All of them fail. The discovery of gold in Indian sacred ground, the Black Hills, causes continued tension. Emissaries are sent on the pretext of bringing about a peaceful resolution yet the intent is to get Indians to sign worthless treaties and release more of their land.

In the summer of 1876, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and a regiment of the Seventh Cavalry attack members of the Lakota Nation and other tribes along Montana’s Little Bighorn River. An estimated two thousand warriors defeat Custer, killing him and about two hundred fifty of his men. Sitting Bull does not take part in the fight but is there as spiritual leader. Shocked by this devastating defeat, the American people demand retribution. Now with even greater force and conviction, the U.S. government begins a relentless pursuit of the Indians in a concentrated effort to drive them into reservations. Sitting Bull and his followers flee to Canada, beyond the reach of the U. S. Army, where they are offered asylum by the Canadians. Sitting Bull remains defiant until the near starvation of his people forces him to return four years later and surrender. He is taken to Fort Randall where he is held as a prisoner of war for two years. Upon his release he is sent to Standing Rock Reservation where he is forced to work in the fields and denied any special privileges that a chief of his standing would normally be accorded.

In 1885, hoping that exposure to the white man’s world will “civilize” him, he is temporarily released from Standing Rock and allowed to perform in a tour of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. His travels and experiences in major eastern cities give him a new perspective. When Sitting Bull returns to Standing Rock, he begins to assert a degree of independence from the Indian agent in charge. Sitting Bull is no longer permitted to perform in any more shows. For a time, he settles into a quiet life with his family.

Hopeless and oppressed, many Indians on the reservation become followers of a Paiute holy man who started a movement called the Ghost Dance. The ritual is perceived as anti-white by the government and efforts are made to discourage reservation Indians from participating. Although Sitting Bull does not taken part, he does not discourage others from doing so. Fearing that he might incite rebellion, the Indian agent orders the Indian police to place Sitting Bull under arrest. On December 15, 1890, they break into Sitting Bull’s cabin. The chief’s followers intervene and a gunfight takes place. Sitting Bull is killed.

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