The Scary Untold Story Of Crazy Horse
Homeland
Crazy Horse was a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, and his homeland was in the Great Plains region of North America. Specifically, he was born and raised in the Black Hills area of present-day South Dakota, which was a sacred land to the Lakota people.
The Black Hills were a rich source of food, water, and natural resources for the Lakota people, and they considered the area to be a spiritual center of their culture. However, the US government sought to gain control of the land and its resources, leading to conflicts and wars between the US military and Native American tribes like the Lakota.
In 1868, the US government signed a treaty with the Lakota that recognized the Black Hills as part of their reservation. However, after gold was discovered in the area in the 1870s, the US government broke the treaty and seized the land, leading to the Black Hills War and the eventual forced removal of the Lakota from the area.
Despite the loss of their homeland, the Lakota people have continued to resist and maintain their cultural traditions and connections to the land. Today, the Black Hills remain a sacred place for the Lakota and other Native American tribes, and efforts are underway to protect the area and its cultural heritage for future generations.
Crazy Horse — 1842-1877
Crazy Horse, a principal war chief of the Lakota Sioux, was born in 1842 near the present-day city of Rapid City, SD. Called “Curly” as a child, he was the son of an Oglala medicine man and his Brule wife, the sister of Spotted Tail. By the time he was twelve, he had killed a buffalo and received his own horse. His father gave him his own name, Crazy Horse.
While living with his uncle Spotted Tail, Crazy Horse watched as a group of soldiers attacked Sioux leaders who were trying to mediate a dispute.
Spotted Tail then led a group of warriors to attack the soldiers. Sometime later Crazy Horse returned from a buffalo hunt to find the village burned to the ground and eighty-six people dead. Finding a few survivors, Crazy Horse was told that U.S. cavalry had attacked the village.
While still a young man Crazy Horse went on a vision quest and had a vivid dream of a rider in a storm on horseback, with long unbraided hair, a small stone in his ear, zig zag lightning decorating his check and hail dotting his body. The storm faded and a red-backed hawk flew over the rider’s head. His father interpreted the dream as a sign of his son’s future greatness in battle. Crazy Horse adopted the costume as his war dress.
During Red Cloud’s War in 1866-1868 Crazy Horse joined in raids against white settlements and forts in Wyoming. When the Treaty of Fort Laramie was signed in 1868 and the Army agreed to abandon its posts along Bozeman Trail, Red Cloud and Spotted Tail settled on reservation lands. Crazy Horse became the war chief of the Oglalas. He was only 24 years old.
