Kicking Bear

Kicking Bear (c.1846 – November 28, 1904) was an Oglala Lakota leader, warrior, and medicine man associated with the Ghost Dance movement and active during the late nineteenth-century conflicts between Plains tribes and the United States. He participated in the Great Sioux War of 1876–77 and was present at the events leading up to the Wounded Knee confrontation. Later arrested and imprisoned, he became a figure in Lakota efforts to adapt spiritual revival and cultural resilience amid Reservation life and federal policies such as the Dawes Act.

Early life and family

Born about 1846 on the Northern Plains, he belonged to the Oglala band of the Lakota within the larger Sioux peoples. His father was the leader Crazy Horse's relative and he was the brother of Black Fox (also called Pine Ridge leaders in some accounts), aligning him with prominent Oglala families that included figures like Spotted Tail and Red Cloud. He grew to manhood during the period of escalating conflict with U.S. Army columns such as those led by Alfred Sully, George Crook, and George Armstrong Custer and during treaty-era negotiations like the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1851) and the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868). His early reputation as a warrior and scout placed him among contemporaries including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Big Foot (Spotted Elk).

Involvement with the Ghost Dance movement

In the late 1880s and early 1890s he traveled to Nevada and Pyramid Lake areas to learn the Ghost Dance teachings from practitioners influenced by Wovoka (Jack Wilson). He became a principal advocate of the Ghost Dance among the Oglala and other Lakota bands, promoting a millenarian ritual that drew adherents from communities tied to leaders like Sitting Bull and Big Foot (Spotted Elk). The movement spread rapidly across reservations such as Pine Ridge and Rosebud, interacting with federal Indian agents, military officials at posts like Fort Robinson and Fort Keogh, and reformers in organizations including the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His promotion of the Ghost Dance linked him to pan-Indian networks that involved individuals like Short Bull and institutions such as missionary outposts and currency centers in towns like Rapid City and Cannonball.

Role in the Great Sioux War and Wounded Knee

During the Great Sioux War of 1876–77, he served as a warrior allied with Oglala leaders resisting settler incursions and mining pressures into the Black Hills (Paha Sapa). He participated in engagements and raids against U.S. Army detachments, contemporaneous with the Battle of the Little Bighorn campaign though not necessarily present at that battle. In 1890 tensions over the Ghost Dance, combined with federal policies and military responses, culminated in the confrontation at Wounded Knee where detachments of the 7th Cavalry Regiment and other units attempted disarmament of Lakota bands. He was present among the Oglala and Miniconjou groups associated with leaders such as Sitting Bull (whose death intensified tensions) and Big Foot (Spotted Elk). The ensuing massacre involved units under officers tied to the Department of the Missouri and prompted national attention involving newspapers in New York City, politicians in Washington, D.C., and military reviews by figures like Nelson A. Miles.

Imprisonment and later life

Following Wounded Knee, he was among those arrested by Army authorities and tried in military or civil proceedings overseen by officials connected to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of War. He, along with other prisoners, served sentences at places linked to federal penitentiary practices and military detention trends of the era; contemporaneous detainees included supporters of the Ghost Dance like Short Bull and prominent Lakota such as Big Foot. After release he returned to reservation life at Pine Ridge, navigating allotment regimes under the Dawes Act and interactions with agents, missionaries, and reformers including members of the Indian Rights Association and educators from institutions like the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. He continued spiritual activities, integrating Ghost Dance memory with traditional ceremonies such as the Sun Dance, while engaging with leaders like Red Cloud and elders who sought cultural survival amid assimilationist pressures.

Legacy and cultural representation

He is remembered in histories of the Plains wars, Ghost Dance scholarship, and Lakota oral traditions; his life intersects narratives about resistance by figures like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Spotted Tail. Scholars in works associated with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Natural History, and university presses have examined his role in late nineteenth-century Lakota history alongside archival collections at repositories like the National Archives and the Library of Congress. Artistic and literary portrayals appear in analyses of the Ghost Dance in texts about Native American religion, in museum exhibitions referencing the Plains Indians and in modern media treatments that explore Wounded Knee and the Great Sioux War. Commemorations at sites like the Wounded Knee National Historic Landmark and programs involving descendant communities at Pine Ridge preserve memories of his activism and spiritual leadership. His life continues to inform legal and cultural discussions involving treaties such as the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and ongoing campaigns for recognition pursued by organizations like the American Indian Movement and tribal governments.

Category:Oglala people Category:Lakota people Category:19th-century Native Americans