Crazy Horse by Matthieu

Have you ever wondered how would you feel to be the bravest, smartest Indian leader ever? This is how Crazy Horse must have felt after a victory against white people. Black Elk said, “It was this vision that gave him his great power, for when he went into a fight, he had only to think of that world to be in it again, so that he could go through anything and not be hurt.”

Crazy Horse was born around 1841, but nobody knows his exact birthday. Everyone called him Curly as a child. But his real name was Tashunka Witko. Unlike other Sioux that have straight black hair, Curly had brown wavy hair and a narrow face. Some people thought that he was a captured white child. His aunt raised him because his mother died when he was young. He saw his people suffer a lot. One time when he was chasing a wild horse, he returned to find his camp burned and all of the villagers dead. His father was important and a holy man.

Curly was a good hunter. He killed his first buffalo at ten years old. The first time he met U.S. soldiers was on July 25, 1865 on the Oregon trail were he tried to trick the soldiers out of their defences.

In 1866 many conflicts started between Lakota Indians and the U.S. government. On June 25,1876 white soldier attacked an Indian camp where 10,000 Indians lived. The Indians won The Battle of the Little Bighorn. General George Armstrong Custer died during the battle of the Little Bighorn. Following Custer’s death, the U.S. government forced the Lakota to return to their reservation. On December 21,1866 the Indians won a battle against Captain William Fetterman. All 80 of Fetterman’s white soldiers died because they were tricked into Indian territory. On June 17, 1876 Crazy Horse, Lakota, and Cheyenne allies won the Battle of Rosebud against General George Crook. In 1876 the U.S. army tried to push the “free” plains Indians into reservations but Crazy Horse fought back.

Crazy Horse was a brave and smart leader of the Oglala (Teton Sioux) who fought and joined Sitting Bull to defend the reservation in the Black Hills. Some people even thought he had spiritual powers! Crazy Horse married a Cheyenne women named Black Shawl and had a daughter that died young. In 1868 the U.S and Lakota treaty was created. The great Sioux reservation was created in what today is known as South Dakota, west of the Missouri river. The Military was looking for Crazy Horse after his last battle, but he was hiding in Yellowstone.

The U.S. military wanted to give rewards to white people that could capture Crazy Horse and take him to Fort Robinson. Unfortunately, Crazy Horse was killed by a bayonet on September 5,1877 at Fort Robinson, Nebraska after refusing to enter a jail cell. Many people believe he was assassinated because he was hated by so many white people.

Crazy Horse spent his life fighting for Indian freedom. He famously said, “We preferred our own way of living. We were no expense to the government. All we wanted was peace and to be left alone.” Today, he is remembered by a huge monument in South Dakota.