Defender of Lakota Homeland
... for gold. The systematic extermination of buffalo along with the treaty violation triggered outrage among the Lakota. By 1875, a catastrophic showdown between the Lakotas and the United States Army was bound to occur. No Native American stood up to the challenge of taking on the United States in a dispute invading their lives. This was a time in a society for a leader to challenge and represent what his party believed in. A Hunkpapa Lakota chief and holy man Sitting Bull emerged to prevent Americans from entering their sacred land. Sitting Bull gained influence due to the society being overwhelmed with factionalism. The Lakota Indian tribe was plagued with partisan interest. In this time period of developmental crisis, many tribes including the Lakotas lacked a true leader. As Americans infested their sacred territory and natural resources, typical Lakota members were reluctant to engage in defense. The Lakota chief and holy man under whom the Lakota tribes united in their struggle for survival on the northern plains, Sitting Bull remained rebellious toward American military power and stern of American promises to the end. Many living under the power of Sitting Bull doubted his beliefs of vengeance and followed the laws set by the American Government. Sitting Bull’s significance at the Little Bighorn is not incredible bravery or dictating the engagements of soldiers or even inspiring them to challenge. It lay rather in a wise and powerful leadership uniting a powerful union of tribes, one so infused with his rebellious mentality that it could overthrow General Custer and annihilate General Cook. Never had the Lakota succeeded so astonishingly, and never would they again. For that, more than any other chief, Sitting Bull has the key to the components needed in a time of paradox. He kept the Lakota nationhood together with motivation and strategies that no other leader in history can contest. Sitting Bull stood by what he believed in, giving his life up in the end for the stru...