Short Bull

Short Bull

Short Bull (c. 1855–1923) was a Sicangu Lakota leader and holy man associated with the Ghost Dance movement in the late 19th century. He is noted for his role among the Oglala Lakota and Sicangu Lakota communities during the period surrounding the Wounded Knee Massacre and for his later efforts to navigate relations with the United States government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. His life intersected with major figures and events including Sitting Bull, Big Foot (Spotted Elk), Chief Red Cloud, and the expansion of Reservation policy in the northern Plains.

Early life and background

Short Bull was born around 1855 into the Sicangu band of the Lakota people on the northern Great Plains. He grew up during a period marked by increasing pressure from United States expansion, the aftermath of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, and confrontations such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. His formative years coincided with leaders like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Red Cloud, who shaped Sicangu and Oglala responses to incursions by United States Army expeditions and settler migration along trails like the Bozeman Trail. Short Bull participated in traditional Lakota lifeways, relying on bison herds decimated by commercial hunting and railroad construction epitomized by companies such as the Union Pacific Railroad.

Role in Native American leadership

By the 1880s and 1890s Short Bull had emerged as a respected figure within Sicangu and allied Lakota communities alongside chiefs and spiritual leaders like Big Foot (Spotted Elk), Chief Left Hand, and Red Cloud. He served as a mediator between families affected by loss after engagements involving the United States Army and federal Indian agents stationed at posts such as Fort Sully and Fort Randall. His leadership occurred in the shadow of federal policies implemented by administrations including those of President Ulysses S. Grant and later President Grover Cleveland, and under the supervision of officials in the Bureau of Indian Affairs who enforced assimilationist measures such as allotment debates that would culminate in legislation like the Dawes Act. Short Bull’s standing was rooted in customary Lakota social structures and spiritual authority rather than formalized elected office introduced on reservations like Pine Ridge and Rosebud.

Involvement in the Ghost Dance movement

Short Bull became prominently associated with the Ghost Dance, a spiritual and social revival originating with the prophet Wovoka of the Numu (Northern Paiute) people. The Ghost Dance spread rapidly across Plains nations, embraced by bands of Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and others, and reached Lakota leaders including Sitting Bull and communities near Pine Ridge Reservation and Rosebud Reservation. Short Bull participated in dance gatherings that sought restoration described in prophecies and performed in concert with leaders like Kicking Bear and Big Foot (Spotted Elk). The movement alarmed federal authorities, including General Nelson A. Miles and Brigadier General James W. Forsyth, who feared insurrection after prophetic gatherings at sites tied to actors such as Wovoka and ritualists who operated across regions tied to tribes like the Shoshone and Yakama.

Arrest, trial, and imprisonment

In the wake of rising tensions following the arrest and death of Sitting Bull and the subsequent movements of Ghost Dance adherents, federal troops engaged with groups led by figures such as Big Foot (Spotted Elk). Short Bull was arrested amid mass detentions intended to suppress the movement and prevent conflagrations similar to the Wounded Knee Massacre. He faced charges processed through courts influenced by military commissions and civil authorities acting under the supervision of the War Department and the Department of the Interior. His trial reflected wider legal confrontations involving Lakota activists and petitioners who had been detained after confrontations with units from posts like Fort Omaha and commands under officers such as Brigadier General John R. Brooke. Short Bull served a term in custody, during which incarcerated Native leaders encountered administrators and reformers, including advocates from organizations like the Indian Rights Association and observers from newspapers in Chicago and New York City.

Later life and legacy

After his release Short Bull returned to the Rosebud Indian Reservation area, where he continued to exercise cultural and spiritual influence among the Sicangu, engaging with leaders in efforts to preserve Lakota ceremonies and language despite assimilation pressures, boarding schools, and allotment policies advanced by figures such as Richard Henry Pratt. He lived into the early 20th century, witnessing events such as the increased activity of the National Congress of American Indians precursors and shifts in federal Indian policy under administrators like Carlisle Indian Industrial School proponents and later reformers. Short Bull’s life is remembered in oral histories and ethnographies compiled by scholars influenced by collectors like James Mooney, Francis La Flesche, and later anthropologists connected to institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the American Anthropological Association. His participation in the Ghost Dance movement remains a touchstone in studies of Plains spirituality, resistance, and the complex interactions between Native nations and the expanding institutions of the United States.

Category:Lakota people Category:Native American leaders