Sitting Bull and the Sioux Indian's

Sitting Bull was one of the Sioux Indian's greatest leaders of all time. He had all the qualities that made him a great leader and role model to all of his tribe members. He showed courage, strength and perseverance throughout his entire life until the day he died.  

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When our class was first exposed to this project I had honestly no idea who or what topic I would choose to right about. After a few minutes I decided to just choose one of the people listed on the sheet Mrs. Lawson handed out. So, I, thinking that he had a cool name, choose Sitting Bull to do my research and essay on. While researching him, I never thought I would become so interested in his life and everything that he did. I also did not think he would be as interesting as he turned out to be. Sitting Bull, also known as Tatanka- Iyotanka, according to PBS, was born in 1831 on the Grand River in which in today's time is located in South Dakota. Tatanka- Iyontanka stands for a "wild buffalo bull sitting up on it's haunches", PBS informed me. Sitting Bull was born in a place that the Lakota tribe knew as "Many Catches" due to the number of food storage pits they had. As I kept on reading on the PBS website, I then discovered that Sitting Bull's leadership skills started at an early age when he became the leader of Strong Heart Warrior Society. Not much later, PBS stated, Sitting Bull was found going to his first battle at just the age of FOURTEEN. That really threw me for a loop, I could not imagine going to battle at such a young age, let alone now! PBS also stated that he had his first encounter with real American soldiers in June of 1863. He must have been terrified! My research on PBS continued on leading me to find that he led a siege against the US soldiers at Fort Rice in 1865 and just 3 years later he was crowned head chief of the Lakota. With just the little research I had done, I realized that this man must have been an amazing leader. Later, while still on the PBS website, it informed me that in March of 1876 Sitting Bull led the Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes in a sun dance. This famous sun dance, PBS explained, was a way for the people to offer prayers to their great spirit Wakan Tanka. According to PBS, during the sun dance the tribal members slashed Sitting Bull's arms one hundred times as a way to show sacrifice. After reading that I was in complete and utter shock. Having your arms slashed one hundred times does not sound very fun to me! Within the next few sentences, PBS told about the vision that Sitting Bull had after the Sundance; "soldiers falling into the Lakota camp as if grasshoppers were falling from the sky" was what PBS said Sitting Bull saw in his dream. Lastly, in May 1877 he led his tribe into Canada to escape the US soldiers, PBS described. With only have looked at one website, I already knew loads of information about a man I had never heard of until my US History class this year. 

After I thought I had received enough information from PBS, I continued on my search of Sitting Bull and all the great things he accomplished in his lifetime. My search led me to Sitting Bull  which gave me the facts that I had been looking for. Sitting Bull gave me background information on Sitting Bull's father and mother whom were named Jumping Bull and Her-Holy-Door. This website also told me something I never expected, Sitting Bull had children. He had two daughters named Many Horses and Walks looking, a son named Crow Foot and an adopted son named One Bull. This really caught me off guard because I had assumed that he had no children nor much of a family. Reading on, I found more facts that led to my thoughts about him being a great and powerful leader. "Tatanka- Iyotaka was a man of clear vision and pure motivation", according to Sitting Bull . He was said to have given money to white, hungry people whom he didn't even know. Seeing that most of the white, US people hated Indians at that time, it took a lot of pure goodness for him to do something nice for people that might not respect him. 

http://northdakotacowboy.com/image/cache/ndchf.great_westerner.sitting_bull.3.jpg

When I felt satisfied with the information I had on Sitting Bull himself, I thought it might be a good idea for me to research and find out about the tribes he came from and what he did for them. This led me to Big Orrin which was by far one of the most helpful websites I had visited and clearly stated that Sitting Bull was a member of the Sioux Indians. Big Orrin answered all of the questions I had been longing to know the answers to. They are as follows; women wore long, deerskin and elk skin dresses while men wore breed cloths, leggings as well as buckskin shirts. Both men and women wore moccasins and buffalo-hide robes, but only when the weather got bad. Within the Sioux Indians, the women were in charge of the home in which they cooked, cleaned and even BUILT their families homes all by themselves. Next, Big Orrin went on about how the Sioux men were in charge of hunting, feeding and defending their families, which was very important. They also talked about how only men could become chiefs of the Sioux Indians but both genders led story telling, music, artwork and medicine. Most of the Sioux, according to Big Orrin,  lived in large tents made of buffalo which were known as teepees. A whole entire Sioux Vinnage could be packed up and ready to move to a different spot within one hour due to the fact that the teepees were so easy to take down and put back up. 

The definition of a leader is the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. This being exactly what Sitting Bull did in the years that he was alive. According to History , Sitting Bull is remembered for his resistance against white domination. Also, according to Sitting Bull,  when he was alive he was "considered to be one of the most influential leaders on the prairie". Sitting Bull  also said how in today's time, Sitting Bull is highly recognizable in the Indian world. Sitting Bull died December 15, 1890 when he was shot by an Indian police. He is buried in Mobridge, South Dakota, stated Sitting Bull.  Lastly, my Google search led me to Sioux Me. This website also said that Sitting Bull was said to be the last Sioux that surrendered to the US government. 

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PBS

• Found info on Sitting Bull's life and introduced me to his accomplishments. This was one of the best sites that I used and was extremely helpful. 

Sitting Bull   

• Gave me information on his family and life. Pretty helpful

History    

• Only found a few facts here, not very helpful with my research.

Sioux Me       

• Got information about his death and how it happened from this okay cite.

Big Orrin    

• Extremely helpful with my research, had exactly what I was looking for. Gave me info on the tribe that Sitting Bull belonged to and their background.

Nina and Pinta

The Cowboy in US History

The Western cowboy was often seen as a free, rugged man who didn't have a care in the world for fancy living. Many people thought that the life of a cowboy was great and most men wanted to be one back in that time. But, in reality, a cowboy was just a low paid worker who couldn't afford fancy living and didn't have very much. A cowboy usually just had a horse and water; that was really all he needed to survive.They relied on nature for their food and shelter and that is the reason they are known as nature men. Cowboys have always been mistaken by many people for having a great, adventurous, free life. Although, many cowboys didn't like their lifestyle and longed for a family and home.

Not only was the life of a cowboy depicted different than it actually was, but life in the West was also seen differently from people who didn't live in that world. As an example, I can remember growing up and always seeing movies or books based on cowboys fighting Indians. Honestly, I thought that cowboys and Indians fought each other until I learned otherwise in US History. Cowboys and Indians had no problems with each other and were never seen really "battling" one another in the West. The majority of Americans think they know lots of information on the West based on their view of the cowboys and Indians, but in actuality they are not understanding the real day-to-day life the people in the West had to live because of all the lies they have been told. This includes the Chinese coming into the West and basically taking it over, immigration from all over Europe to the West and the struggles people in the West went through to keep their families going. Speaking for myself, I had never once heard anything about the Chinese ever coming into the West until this class. It makes me feel a whole lot more knowledgeable knowing about what actually went on in the West and America in general.

Most people back then and even some today believe that a cowboy is an untamed, scruffy man that no one wanted their daughter to fall in love with. People also believe that cowboys were dangerous men who wanted to start wars with Indians and other people that lived around them. Is it America's fault for the way people see Cowboys? Yes and no. It is truly no one's fault for many American's wrong impression on Western cowboys. Also, cowboys in a way brought it on themselves by living the lifestyle that they lived. Although many of them couldn't help the low pay job they had to work because that might have been the only job they could have gotten. The cowboys were happy with their way of life for the most part and the way they lived gave people the impression they have of them today.

Chapter 15 Reflection

Before this unit of study in US history, I did not know much at all about the Post-Civil War South. I knew that slavery had been abolished and that it was very hard times for the freed blacks due to their lack of jobs and trying to find a place to live in. After learning more about this topic, I now understand why the South's economy was so bad. Their economy was so bad because of the devastation the war caused on the land and fields. I also knew that the South's economy was based on agriculture so that really explained it for me and showed me why it was not thriving after the war. Another thing I learned about in this unit was about the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. Growing up I have always heard those terms but never really understood what they meant. Now I know that the 13th amendment abolished slavery, the 14th amendment gave all citizens their natural rights, and the 15th gave people voting rights. I could never have come up with those answers before this unit. I also did not quit realize the horrible struggles the freed blacks faced after the war. I never thought about having to move far away from where they would work long hot days on the plantations. Nor did I think about them having to deal with the bad thoughts and remembering their past lives.

It is very important for people to know and understand the history of the place in which they live in because of how important it is to not be selfish and to realize what people had to go through to get the place they live in to be the way it is now. Also, I think that people should at least know what wars were fought in the place they live in and why they were fought. Knowing what life was like before the war compared to after is also a very important factor as well. Learning and studying about the history of ones home city or state is very beneficial because it might make one appreciate where they live more. I know that after learning all about the Civil War it has made me realize how lucky I am to live in the South and have it be the way it is. Although, there are some things I could have kept the same about it from Pre-Civil War I could not be happier with where I live now.

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I made a video showing my view of America. The 30 second video displayed pictures of items I think are important to America. Making the picture video and adding music was so simple! I had no problems at all figuring out how to put it together. My video was a political and personal side of things. I thought this was such a fun assignment that really got me thinking about the US.