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Quick Facts
- NAME: Crazy Horse
- OCCUPATION: Folk Hero, Warrior, Political Leader
- BIRTH DATE: c. 1842
- DEATH DATE: September 05, 1877
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Rapid City, South Dakota
- PLACE OF DEATH: Fort Robinson, Nebraska
- Full Name: Tashunka Witco
Best Known For
Crazy Horse was an Oglala Sioux Indian chief who fought against removal to an Indian reservation. He took part in the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Videos see all videos
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Crazy Horse - Vision Quest (2:21)
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Crazy Horse - Early Life (3:28)
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Crazy Horse - Death (4:02)
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Crazy Horse - Vision Quest
An inside look into the first vision quest that famed Native American warrior Crazy Horse went on.
Crazy Horse - Early Life
Learn about the early life of Crazy Horse, a member of the Lakota tribe within the Sioux Nation.
Crazy Horse - Death
Learn about the circumstances that led to the death of famed Native American warrior Crazy Horse.
Crazy Horse - Battle at Little Big Horn
An inside look at the Battle of Little Big Horn between the Native Americans and forces led by General George Custer.
Quiz
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Play NowCrazy Horse. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:45, May 23, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082.
Crazy Horse. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082 [Accessed 23 May 2013].
"Crazy Horse." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 23 2013, 05:45 http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082.
"Crazy Horse," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082 [accessed May 23, 2013].
"Crazy Horse," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082 (accessed May 23, 2013).
Crazy Horse [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 23] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082.
Crazy Horse, http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082 (last visited May 23, 2013).
Crazy Horse. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/crazy-horse-9261082. Accessed May 23, 2013.
Synopsis
Crazy Horse was born c. 1840, near present-day Rapid City, South Dakota. He was an Oglala Sioux Indian chief who fought against removal to a reservation in the Black Hills. In 1876 he joined with Cheyenne forces in a surprise attack against Gen. George Crook; then united with Chief Sitting Bull for the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In 1877, Crazy Horse surrendered and was killed in a scuffle with soldiers.
Early Years
An uncompromising and fearless Lakota leader who was committed to protecting his people's way of life, Crazy Horse was born with the Native American name Tashunka Witco around 1840 near what is present-day Rapid Springs, South Dakota.
The details of how he came to acquire the name Crazy Horse are up for debate. One account says that his father, also named Crazy Horse, passed the name on to him after his son had demonstrated his skills as a warrior.
Even as a young boy, Crazy Horse stood out. He was fair-skinned and had brown, curly hair, giving him an appearance that was noticeably different from other boys his age. These physical differences may have laid the groundwork for a personality that even among his own people made him a loner and a bit distant.
Crazy Horse's birth had come during a great time for the Lakota people. A division of the Sioux, the Lakota represented the largest band of the tribe. Their domain included a giant swath of land that ran from the Missouri River to the Big Horn Mountains in the west. Their contact with whites was minimal, and by the 1840s the Lakota were at the peak of their power.
Changes for the Lakota
In the 1850s, however, life for the Lakota began to change considerably. As white settlers began pushing west in search of gold and a new a life out on the frontier, competition for resources between these new immigrants and the Lakota created tension. Military forts were established in parts of the Great Plains, bringing in even more white settlers and introducing diseases that took their toll on the native Indian populations.
In August 1854 everything boiled over in what became known as the Grattan Massacre. It started when a group of white men, led by Lieutenant John Grattan, entered a Sioux camp to take prisoner the men who had killed a migrant's cow. After Chief Conquering Bear refused to give in to their demands, violence erupted. After one of the white soldiers shot and killed the chief, the camp's warriors fought back and killed Grattan and his 30 men.
The Grattan Massacre is widely considered the conflict that kicked off the First Sioux War between the United States and the Lakota. For the still young Crazy Horse, it also helped establish what would be a lifetime of distrust for whites.
Celebrated Warrior
As conflicts escalated between the Lakota and the U.S., Crazy Horse was at the center of many key battles.
In one important victory for his people, Crazy Horse led an attack on Captain William J. Fetterman and his brigade of 80 men. The Fetterman Massacre, as it came to be known, proved to be a huge embarrassment for the U.S. military.
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