Grant Short Bull
Encyclopedia
Grant Short Bull (ca. 1851-1935). Member of Soreback Band, Oglala
Lakota, and participant in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
. Became a headman during the early twentieth century on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
headman named Black Rock and his wife Scatter the Feather. Short Bull was the younger brother of the prominent Oglala He Dog
. A member of the family band called the Cankahuhan or Soreback Band (Oglala), Short Bull was among those who remained away from the agencies in an attempt to enjoy the traditional life for as long as possible.
, located in northwestern Nebraska. The Sorebacks soon joined a village of Northern Cheyenne on the Powder River. While Short Bull was absent from the village on a raiding party, the village was attacked by General George Crook
's troops, under the direct command of Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds. Short Bull returned in time to help recapture part of the village's horse herd. "This attack was the turning point of the situation," Short Bull explained. "It it had not been for that attack by Crook on Powder River, we would have come in to the agency that spring, and there would have been no Sioux war."
Short Bull participated in both the Rosebud and Little Bighorn battles.
The Soreback Band, including Short Bull and He Dog, surrendered with Crazy Horse
at the Red Cloud Agency on May 6, 1877. Short Bull served in Company A Indian scouts that fall, but then left with the other northern bands when they fled the agency. These families cross the border in to Canada to join Sitting Bull
where they remained for the next three years. Short Bull surrendered with other Oglala at Fort Keogh in 1880-81 and was transferred to the Standing Rock Agency in the summer of 1881. He and other members of the Soreback band were transferred to the Pine Ridge Reservation in May 1882 where they all settled on the forks of the White River.
Tragically, Grant Short Bull and his son Charlie were killed in an automobile accident north of Oglala, South Dakota, on August 20, 1935. The family was en route to a memorial dinner for Henry Young Skunk. His daughter Kate Blue Horse also died within days from her injuries in the accident. With that single tragedy, much of the family oral history was lost.
Artist Arthur Short Bull is a great-grandson of Grant Short Bull.
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
Lakota, and participant in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
. Became a headman during the early twentieth century on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Early life
Born about 1851-52 near Fort Laramie, Short Bull was the son of a minor OglalaOglala
Oglala may refer to:* Oglala Lakota, or Oglala Sioux, a Sioux Nation sub-band of the Western division * The Oglala National Grassland of Nebraska* Oglala, South Dakota, a town located in Shannon County, South Dakota...
headman named Black Rock and his wife Scatter the Feather. Short Bull was the younger brother of the prominent Oglala He Dog
He Dog
He Dog . A member of the Oglala Lakota, He Dog was closely associated with Crazy Horse during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77.-Biography:...
. A member of the family band called the Cankahuhan or Soreback Band (Oglala), Short Bull was among those who remained away from the agencies in an attempt to enjoy the traditional life for as long as possible.
Great Sioux War of 1876-77
Short Bull was with the Soreback band on the Tongue River in January 1876 when the government's ultimatum was delivered to the northern bands. Short Bull later recalled that they agreed they would go in to the Red Cloud AgencyRed Cloud Agency
The Red Cloud Agency was an Indian agency for the Oglala Lakota as well as the Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho, from 1871 to 1878. It was located at three different sites in Wyoming Territory , before being moved to South Dakota. It was then renamed the Pine Ridge Reservation.- Red Cloud Agency No...
, located in northwestern Nebraska. The Sorebacks soon joined a village of Northern Cheyenne on the Powder River. While Short Bull was absent from the village on a raiding party, the village was attacked by General George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
's troops, under the direct command of Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds. Short Bull returned in time to help recapture part of the village's horse herd. "This attack was the turning point of the situation," Short Bull explained. "It it had not been for that attack by Crook on Powder River, we would have come in to the agency that spring, and there would have been no Sioux war."
Short Bull participated in both the Rosebud and Little Bighorn battles.
The Soreback Band, including Short Bull and He Dog, surrendered with Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
at the Red Cloud Agency on May 6, 1877. Short Bull served in Company A Indian scouts that fall, but then left with the other northern bands when they fled the agency. These families cross the border in to Canada to join Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
where they remained for the next three years. Short Bull surrendered with other Oglala at Fort Keogh in 1880-81 and was transferred to the Standing Rock Agency in the summer of 1881. He and other members of the Soreback band were transferred to the Pine Ridge Reservation in May 1882 where they all settled on the forks of the White River.
Short Bull's Family
Short Bull married Good Hawk about 1875. During the early reservation period, she became known as Matilda or Nellie Short Bull; he became known as Grant Short Bull. They had two grown children: Charlie Short Bull, born in 1884, and Katie, born about 1893-95. She later married Arthur Blue Horse Owner.Final years
Short Bull lived the remainder of his life on the Pine Ridge Reservation where he and his wife received an allotment. He and his wife were remarried in the Presbyterian Church Dec. 28, 1911. Matilda died on May 20, 1925. Grant made regular visits to the Agate Ranch in northwestern Nebraska, home of the frontiersman James Cook. Short Bull was among the elder Oglala who attended the dedication of the Crazy Horse marker at Fort Robinson in 1934.Tragically, Grant Short Bull and his son Charlie were killed in an automobile accident north of Oglala, South Dakota, on August 20, 1935. The family was en route to a memorial dinner for Henry Young Skunk. His daughter Kate Blue Horse also died within days from her injuries in the accident. With that single tragedy, much of the family oral history was lost.
Artist Arthur Short Bull is a great-grandson of Grant Short Bull.