Dating years before the Americans invaded Indian Territory, Native Americans chiefs have been leading their tribes through their gains and defeats. Native American Indian chiefs are almost equivalent to the president of the United States, the only difference being that they only govern their own specific tribe. For every tribe, there is a chief who ensures that their people are taken care of. It is common for tribes to change chiefs, whether it be passed down from generation to generation or given to a man who had shown bravery. Given all of the different tribes and chiefs, it is safe to say that they have made history on not only their tribes, but the American history as a whole. This essay in particular focuses on a specific chief by the name of sitting bull. The Lakota chief gives a perfect representation of what a chief does in regards to their tribe. From birth to death, Sitting Bull exemplified the qualities of a great Native American chief.
Background
Originally named Tatanka Yotanka, Sitting Bull was born in Grand …show more content…
His first encounter with whites occurred in 1862 when the Santee Sioux uprising occurred in Minnesota. In July 1864, the chief vowed to keep his people from the white man’s world, and to never sign a treaty that would force them to live on a reservation. The chief’s disregard for treaties and reservation life attracted a large following of native American Indians from not only the Lakota tribe but from the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. He led his followers to the pristine valleys of the Powder and Yellowstone rivers, where their survival solely depended on the buffalo that roamed the area ("Sitting Bull", 2009). Sitting Bull became the chief of the Lakota nation in 1868 after he led his people on an attack in Fort Rice, now known as North Dakota ("Sitting Bull Biography",