White Bull
Encyclopedia
White Bull (April 1849 – June 21, 1947) was the nephew of Sitting Bull
, and a famous warrior in his own right. White Bull participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn
on June 25, 1876. For years it was said White Bull boasted of killing Lt. George Armstrong Custer
at the famous battle. Other sources say White Bull himself never made that claim but admitted to struggling with Custer.
Born in the Black Hills
in South Dakota
, White Bull came from a prominent Sioux family. He was the son of Makes Room, a Miniconjou
chief and the brother of One Bull
. White Bull's uncle was the famous Hunkpapa
Sioux leader Sitting Bull
, whom he joined in fleeing to Canada
after the Little Bighorn battle. Young Chief Solomon "Smoke" and Chief No Neck (these two chiefs were the sons of the old Chief Smoke 1774–1864), who fled with White Bull and Sitting Bull and their bands to Canada.
White Bull surrendered to government troops in 1876. He eventually became a chief, replacing his father Chief Makes Room upon his death. He acted as a judge of the Court of Indian Offenses, and was a proponent of Lakota land claims in the Black Hills. White Bull and Wendell Smoke (Wendell was the son of Chief Solomon "Smoke") took over as the main headmen of Bald people and Short Bald people bands of the Bad Faces after Chief Solomon "Smoke" had died in 1895 at the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota. Chief White Bull died in South Dakota
in 1947.
White Bull's relationship to his uncle made him an important contributor to Stanley Vestal
's biography of Sitting Bull.
His grandson was Chief Dave Bald Eagle, who served with the U.S. 4th Cavalry and later in the 82nd Airborne.
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...
, and a famous warrior in his own right. White Bull participated 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...
on June 25, 1876. For years it was said White Bull boasted of killing Lt. George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
at the famous battle. Other sources say White Bull himself never made that claim but admitted to struggling with Custer.
Born in the Black Hills
Black Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, White Bull came from a prominent Sioux family. He was the son of Makes Room, a Miniconjou
Miniconjou
The Miniconjou are a Native American people constituting a subdivision of the Lakota Sioux, who formerly inhabited an area from the Black Hills in South Dakota to the Platte River. The contemporary population lives mostly in west-central South Dakota...
chief and the brother of One Bull
One Bull
Henery Oscar One Bull was a Lakota Sioux man best known for being the nephew and adopted son of the great holy man, Sitting Bull. He was also the younger brother of White Bull, a famous Lakota warrior and chief contributor to Stanley Vestal's biography of their uncle...
. White Bull's uncle was the famous Hunkpapa
Hunkpapa
The Hunkpapa are a Native American group, one of the seven council fires of the Lakota Sioux tribe. The name Húŋkpapȟa is a Sioux word meaning "Head of the Circle"...
Sioux leader 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...
, whom he joined in fleeing to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
after the Little Bighorn battle. Young Chief Solomon "Smoke" and Chief No Neck (these two chiefs were the sons of the old Chief Smoke 1774–1864), who fled with White Bull and Sitting Bull and their bands to Canada.
White Bull surrendered to government troops in 1876. He eventually became a chief, replacing his father Chief Makes Room upon his death. He acted as a judge of the Court of Indian Offenses, and was a proponent of Lakota land claims in the Black Hills. White Bull and Wendell Smoke (Wendell was the son of Chief Solomon "Smoke") took over as the main headmen of Bald people and Short Bald people bands of the Bad Faces after Chief Solomon "Smoke" had died in 1895 at the Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota. Chief White Bull died in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
in 1947.
White Bull's relationship to his uncle made him an important contributor to Stanley Vestal
Stanley Vestal
Stanley Vestal was an American writer, poet and historian best known for his book Dodge City, Queen of the Cowtowns.-Biography:...
's biography of Sitting Bull.
His grandson was Chief Dave Bald Eagle, who served with the U.S. 4th Cavalry and later in the 82nd Airborne.
External links
- Sioux History in Pictures (The White Bull Manuscript) at The University of North Dakota
- The Man Who Killed Custer American Heritage Magazine