Some obviously biased writers of western history have voiced a similar refrain in reference to the whereabouts of Sitting Bull during the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Where was Sitting Bull? They have implied that Sitting Bull, at the first sounds of bullets entering the Hunkpapa circle from Reno's approaching troopers, hastily gathered his family members and a few possessions and headed south towards the safety of the Big Horn Mountains. He was described as leaving in such haste that he left a grandson behind! Only after the battle had been won, did Indian runners catch up to him and inform him that the threat from the soldiers was no longer present and that he could safely return to the encampment.
It is known that most of the serious fighting was done by the younger men of the Indian tribes. In most cases he active warrior status occurred between the ages of 15 to 40. Anyone surviving years of intertribal warfare and encounters with the U.S. Cavalry became more notable for the wisdom that they had acquired over the years and many had become leaders as medicine men and chiefs. It was up to the willing young men of the tribes to prove themselves in the filed of battle and to provide for the safety of their people. At the time of the Battle of the Little Big Horn(BLBH), Sitting Bull was about 45 years old, somewhat over the warrior age, but had long been known by some and feared by others for his many brave deeds in the face of the enemy. Had he had enough of war and fighting by 1876? Did he run away in fear at the approach of Reno's men? Was he no longer a respected entity in the Sioux hierarchy? What could have changed his aggressive, war-like nature?
Evidence shows that, to the contrary, sitting Bull was very much involved with the events of the day on June 25, 1876. He had to be. it was the Hunkpapa circle, at the southern end of the Indian encampment that was first to come under attack. Were he to have shown anything less than his former courage, he, his relatives and many in his group might have suffered even more severely at the hands of the invaders.
In his warrior days, Sitting Bull had few equals. His name was given to him by his father on the counting of his first coup at the age of 14. Sitting Bull as a child had been called "Slow" because of his careful deliberate manner of activity. He was by no means slow in the true sense of the word and was apparently very agile and skilled in the ways of the warrior. The following year at the age of 15 he again exhibited his bravery by galloping past a line of Flatheads a la Lt. John Dunbar in the movie "Dances With Wolves" Sitting Bull escaped serious harm from the enemy arrows and bullets, sustaining only a minor foot wound. Because of this and other acts of bravery, he soon was selected for the elite warrior societies, the Kit Fox and the Strong Heart. In another encounter with the Crow Indians in 1856, Sitting Bull accepted the one on one challenge of the Crow chief for a face off. As the two warriors approached each other they fired simultaneously, the Crow Chieftain being killed and Sitting Bull being wounded in the foot such that he would always have a slight limp to his gait. The following year at age 27 he was given the honor of becoming a war chief of the Hunkpapa. From that point on, the many successes in battles and skirmishes with both red an white men further enhanced his reputation for bravery and skill in the art of warfare. There is no doubt, then that sitting Bull was an exceptional warrior among warriors, with many devoted followers. Even in the aftermath of the BLBH, as the plains Indians were being rounded up and forced onto the reservations, a large segment of the Hunkpapa band followed him to Canada and only returned to the U.S. when sitting Bull agreed to surrender. Even at the Standing Rock reservation Sitting Bull held the allegiance of many of his former followers, who were ready to fight to the death with him. So, we are not dealing with a man prone to cowardice or fear, but a man and leader of proven courage and charisma that established him as a force to be reckoned with long after his "retirement" from the field of battle.
Then, where was sitting Bull on the day of the BLBH?
It is true, that the battle was carried that day by the likes of Crazy Horse, Gall, Two Moons, and the younger warriors like White Bull. These were the young lions of that battle and they, by custom were to carry the fight to the enemy. Sitting Bull at the first alarm that Reno's men were at the edge of the Hunkpapa camp, did indeed gather up his mother and most of his relatives and took them to safety in the foothills to the west of the river, but quickly returned to gather his war equipment and head out against Reno's men. He invoked courage in the hearts of many of the young warriors and joined the action on the east side of the Reno skirmish line near the patch of timber where the soldiers retreated after the line was broken by the charging Sioux. Sitting Bull was charging and shooting with the others, and after the bulk of Reno's men had "charged" out of the timber to the bluffs across the river, Sitting Bull crossed the river and went up the ravine to help contain the soldiers by maintaining a steady rain of rifle fire on them. With Reno's men contained, Sitting Bull proceeded across the bluffs to Weir Point and down into the Medicine Tail coulee fro where he could see that the battle was indeed going well for his comrades. he then crossed the Little Big Horn and went to the areas where the women and children had gathered in order to protect them from harm if soldiers that might appear from the north. In none of his actions that day did he show cowardice or fear, but only the calm, forceful leadership of a general overseeing the battle.
Where was Sitting Bull during the BLBH? he was right there, in the thick of things defending his people and their way of life as he had so often in the past. Next to Crazy Horse and Red cloud, he is one of the most revered Chiefs of the Sioux people.
For more information on Sitting Bull and his role in the battle:
Utely, Robert M. "The Lance and the Shield" 1993, Ballantine Books, New York.
Connell, Evan S. "Son of the Morning Star" 1984, HarperCollins publishers, New York.
Vestal, Stanley. "Sitting Bull, Champion of the Sioux" 1957, University of Oklahoma press, Norman, Oklahoma.