Red Cloud – Lakota Warrior & Statesman

By Charles A. Eastman (Ohiyesa)

“Look at me. I was a warrior on this land where the sun rises; now, I come from where the sun sets. Whose voice was first surrounded on this land – the red people with bows and arrows. The Great Father says he is good and kind to us. I can’t see it…"

– Red Cloud

Throughout history, every era and culture has been shaped by remarkable leaders and heroes. The North American continent, prior to European colonization, was home to over sixty distinct indigenous tribes, each boasting its own pantheon of notable figures. While the names and deeds of some of these individuals have found their place in the annals of American history, their true character and motivations often remain obscured by misunderstanding. This article aims to shed light on some of the most significant chiefs of the modern era, presenting them through the lens of native perspectives and values, with the hope of offering a more balanced and just appreciation of their legacies.

The Red Cloud, was a leader of exceptional character, a figure who rose to prominence during a period of immense change and conflict. It is a well-documented fact that the Sioux nation, to which the author belongs, initially maintained friendly relations with the successive waves of Caucasian peoples they encountered. These interactions began with the Spanish to the south, followed by the French along the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes, then the English, and finally, the Americans. At its height, this powerful tribe roamed across the vast expanse of the Mississippi Valley, stretching from the river’s banks to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Their traditions and governance fostered a strong sense of unity among the various bands, a cohesion that often surpassed that of neighboring tribes.

In the early decades of the 19th century, figures like Wabasha, Redwing, and Little Six among the Eastern Sioux, and Conquering Bear, Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, and Hump of the western bands, represented the last vestiges of the old tribal order. Following them emerged a new generation of leaders, shaped by the unprecedented conditions brought about by increasingly frequent contact with the expanding American nation.

A crucial distinction must be drawn between these two types of leaders. The earlier chiefs primarily served as spokesmen and guides, wielding limited real authority. In contrast, those who led their tribes during the tumultuous transition period functioned more as rulers and politicians, navigating the complex landscape of intertribal relations and negotiations with the U.S. government. Ironically, many individuals widely recognized as "chiefs" by the American public did not hold that title according to their own tribal customs. Their prominence often stemmed from the unique circumstances created by U.S. government representatives, who strategically utilized certain individuals to achieve specific objectives. In some instances, the violent death of a legitimate chief paved the way for ambitious individuals to seize power, sometimes with external support. Red Cloud was a leader of this era.

Red Cloud, a prominent figure in Lakota history, entered the world around 1820 near the confluence of the Platte River’s forks. Born into a family of nine children, he was raised under the strict tutelage of his father, a respected and capable warrior. From a young age, the young Red Cloud displayed exceptional horsemanship, reportedly able to swim across the formidable Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. He was known for his dignified bearing, unwavering courage, and a gentle, courteous demeanor in his daily interactions – qualities that, along with his melodious voice, remained hallmarks of his character throughout his life.

When Red Cloud reached the age of six, his father presented him with a spirited colt, imparting a valuable lesson: "My son, when you are able to sit quietly upon the back of this colt without saddle or bridle, I shall be glad, for the boy who can win a wild creature and learn to use it, will as a man, be able to win and rule men."

Instead of seeking assistance from his grandfather, as many Indian boys would have done, the young Red Cloud quietly practiced with his lariat. Before long, he managed to lasso the colt, enduring numerous falls but persevering until he could secure the animal near the teepee.

As the older boys drove the pony herd to water, he joined them with his colt. Gradually, the pony grew accustomed to his presence and allowed him to handle it. The boy began riding bareback, enduring countless falls but refusing to give up until he could ride without even a lariat, guiding the animal solely through subtle body movements. From that moment forward, he broke all his own ponies, and eventually, even his father’s. The elders of his generation often recounted how Red Cloud’s exceptional horsemanship contributed to his success in hunting.

At the age of nine, he began accompanying his father on buffalo hunts, riding a pack pony. By the time he turned twelve, he was allowed to participate in the chase. However, he was initially disheartened to discover that his arrows barely penetrated the buffalo’s thick hide. Driven by youthful recklessness, he urged his horse closer to the fleeing animals, and before his father could intervene, he attempted to push one of his protruding arrows deeper into a buffalo. The enraged animal retaliated, tossing the boy and his horse into the air.

Fortunately, the boy landed on the opposite side of his pony, which bore the brunt of the buffalo’s second attack. As the thundering herd stampeded past, the wounded and enraged buffalo remained fixated on its target, creating a perilous situation until Red Cloud’s father managed to divert its attention, allowing the boy to scramble to his feet and escape.

When asked if he could recall ever experiencing fear, Red Cloud recounted an incident from his youth. At around sixteen years old, having already participated in a few war parties, he was hunting in the Big Horn country one autumn, an area where encounters with hostile Crow or Shoshone warriors were a constant threat. While pursuing a lone buffalo bull into the Badlands, he became separated from his companions. After bringing down the animal, he meticulously surveyed his surroundings, alert to any sign of danger. He tethered his horse to the buffalo’s horn with a long lariat while he skinned and butchered the carcass, pausing frequently to scan the landscape, sensing that danger lurked nearby.

Suddenly, a tremendous war-whoop erupted seemingly directly above him. Glancing up, he believed he was witnessing a charge by an overwhelming force of warriors. In a desperate attempt to respond with a defiant war cry, he instead emitted a yell of terror, his legs buckling beneath him as he collapsed in a heap. It was only an instant later that he realized the "war-whoop" was merely the sudden, loud whinny of his horse, and the "charging army" was a band of fleeing elk. Overwhelmed with shame, he vowed never to forget the incident, a lesson that shaped his future conduct.

While still a young man, the future leader joined a war party against the Utes. Eager to prove himself, he surged ahead of his companions, only to find himself alone as night descended, accompanied by a torrential downpour. Seeking shelter, he discovered a natural cave among the scattered scrub pines and decided to spend the night there.

He had barely settled into his blanket when he detected a rustling sound at the entrance, as if another creature intended to share his refuge. The cave was pitch black, obscuring his vision, but he surmised that the intruder was either a man or a grizzly bear. There was insufficient space to draw a bow, forcing him to prepare for a close-quarters confrontation.

The intruder settled down quietly in the opposite corner of the cave without searching. Red Cloud remained motionless, barely breathing, his hand gripping his knife. Hours passed in tense anticipation. Suddenly, he sneezed, triggering an immediate response from the intruder, who sprang into a sitting position. As the first light of dawn crept into the cave, he saw a Ute hunter sitting before him.

Despite the perilous situation, a sense of grim humor arose. Neither man could afford to break eye contact. Finally, a smile flickered across the Ute’s stoic face, prompting Red Cloud to reciprocate. In that instant, a truce was born.

"Put your knife in its sheath. I shall do so also, and we will smoke together," Red Cloud signaled. The Ute readily agreed, and they ratified the truce with a shared smoke, ensuring their safe return to their respective camps. After finishing their smoke, they shook hands and parted ways. Neither had revealed any information to the other. Upon returning to his party, Red Cloud recounted the encounter, emphasizing that he had disclosed nothing and had nothing to report. While some criticized his decision not to fight, most of the warriors commended his restraint. A day or two later, they discovered the enemy’s main camp and engaged in a fierce battle, during which Red Cloud distinguished himself.

The Sioux were entering a period of profound upheaval. Traditional ways were rapidly giving way to new realities. For the first time, the young men were engaging in serious and destructive warfare with neighboring tribes, armed with increasingly deadly weapons provided by the white man. They began to realize that a desperate struggle for their ancestral hunting grounds was imminent. The elders, in their innocence, had fostered friendship with the newcomers, believing that there was enough land for all.

Red Cloud was a modest and relatively unknown man of about 28 years when General Harney summoned all the western bands of Sioux to Fort Laramie, Wyoming, to negotiate an agreement granting right of way through their territory. The Oglala initially resisted this proposal, but Bear Bull, an Oglala chief, attempted to force submission upon the rest of the clan after consuming alcohol. Enraged by their defiance, he opened fire on a group of his own tribesmen, killing Red Cloud’s father and brother. According to Indian custom, it fell to Red Cloud to avenge the deed. Without uttering a word, he confronted Bear Bull and his son, who attempted to defend his father, and shot them both. He acted according to his sense of duty, and the entire band supported his actions. This tragedy immediately elevated the young man’s standing, establishing him as a defender of his people against both external enemies and internal injustice. From that point onward, he was recognized as a leader.

Man-Afraid-of-His-Horse, the head chief of the Oglala, consulted with Red Cloud on all important matters, and the young warrior quickly ascended in authority and influence. In 1854, when he was barely thirty-five years old, the various bands were encamped near Fort Laramie once more. A Mormon emigrant train, heading westward, abandoned a lame cow, which the young men killed for food. The following day, to their surprise, an officer with thirty men arrived at the Indian camp and demanded that the perpetrators be handed over. The chief, Conquering Bear, protested in vain that it was a misunderstanding and offered to make amends.

The officer, seemingly under the influence of alcohol or motivated by a desire to intimidate the Indians, refused to accept any explanation or payment, demanding the immediate surrender of the young men for punishment.

The old chief refused to be intimidated and was shot dead. In response, Red Cloud led the young Oglala, and the intense emotions resulted in the death of even the half-breed interpreter. Not a single soldier made it back to Fort Laramie.

Surprisingly, there was no immediate retaliation from the army, and no serious conflict erupted until 1860, when the Sioux became embroiled in disputes with the Cheyenne and Arapaho. In 1862, a major uprising was initiated by the Eastern Sioux in Minnesota under Little Crow, but the western bands did not participate.

However, this event marked the beginning of a new era for their people. Surveyors from the Union Pacific were mapping out the proposed railway line through the heart of the southern buffalo country, a region frequented by the Oglala, Brule, Arapaho, Comanche, and Pawnee, who relied on the buffalo for sustenance. While most of these tribes were at war with one another, they often convened during the summer months to declare truces and hold joint councils and festivities, which now increasingly focused on discussions about the common threat posed by the encroaching settlers. However, some of the smaller and weaker tribes began to embrace the new order, recognizing that the government’s policy aimed to end tribal warfare.

Red Cloud’s stance was unequivocally opposed to submission. He delivered several notable speeches articulating this position, one of which was recounted to the author by an old man who had heard it and remembered it with the remarkable verbal memory of an Indian.

"Friends," Red Cloud declared, "it has been our misfortune to welcome the white man. We have been deceived. He brought with him some shining things that pleased our eyes; he brought weapons more effective than our own: above all, he brought the spirit water that makes one forget for a time old age, weakness, and sorrow. But I wish to say to you that if you would possess these things for yourselves, you must begin anew and put away the wisdom of your fathers. You must lay up food and forget the hungry. When your house is built, your storeroom filled, then look around for a neighbor whom you can take at a disadvantage, and seize all that he has! Give away only what you do not want; or rather, do not part with any of your possessions unless in exchange for another’s."

"My countrymen, shall the glittering trinkets of this rich man, his deceitful drink that overcomes the mind, shall these things tempt us to give up our homes, our hunting grounds, and the honorable teaching of our old men? Shall we permit ourselves to be driven to and fro – to be herded like the cattle of the white man?"

Another memorable speech was delivered in 1866, just before the attack on Fort Phil Kearny. The resentment towards the invaders had reached a boiling point. At the council on the Powder River, there was unanimous agreement to resist the government’s clear intentions. While Red Cloud was aware of the white man’s superior numbers and resources, he was determined to face any odds rather than submit.

"Hear ye, Dakotas!" he exclaimed. "When the Great Father at Washington sent us his chief soldier [General Harney] to ask for a path through our hunting grounds, a way for his iron road to the mountains and the western sea, we were told that they wished merely to pass through our country, not to tarry among us, but to seek for gold in the far west. Our old chiefs thought to show their friendship and goodwill when they allowed this dangerous snake in our midst. They promised to protect the wayfarers.

"Yet before the ashes of the council fire are cold, the Great Father is building his forts among us. You have heard the sound of the white soldier’s ax upon the Little Piney. His presence here is an insult and a threat. It is an insult to the spirits of our ancestors. Are we then to give up their sacred graves to be plowed for corn? Dakotas, I am for war!"

Within a week of this speech, the Sioux attacked Fort Phil Kearny, the newly established outpost guarding the Oregon Trail. The attack was meticulously planned, albeit after heated debate, and nearly every prominent Sioux chief agreed to participate. The brilliant young war leader, Crazy Horse, was chosen to lead the charge, supported by lieutenants Sword, Hump, and Dull Knife, along with Little Chief of the Cheyenne. The older men served as councilors. Their success was immediate. They lured nearly a hundred men under Captain Fetterman out of the fort through a ruse and annihilated them in less than half an hour.

Instead of sending troops to retaliate, the government dispatched a commission to negotiate with the Sioux. This resulted in the famous Treaty of 1868, which Red Cloud was the last to sign, refusing to do so until all forts within their territory were abandoned.

All of his demands were met. The new road was abandoned, the garrisons were withdrawn, and the treaty explicitly stated that the Black Hills and the Big Horn were Indian country, reserved for their permanent occupancy, and that no white man could enter that region without the Sioux’s consent.

However, this treaty was barely signed when gold was discovered in the Black Hills, igniting a public outcry for the removal of the Indians. This was easier said than done, as the territory had just been solemnly guaranteed to them forever. Nevertheless, the government made only a token effort to prevent the wholesale violation of the treaty. This situation prompted Red Cloud’s last great speech, delivered at a gathering on the Little Rosebud River. The speech was brief, reflecting the hopelessness of their future as a people. By this point, he seemed to have concluded that resistance could not last much longer, especially since most of the Sioux nation was already under government control.

"We are told," he said, "that Spotted Tail has consented to be the Beggars’ Chief. Those Indians who go over to the white man can be nothing but beggars, for he respects only riches, and how can an Indian be a rich man? He cannot without ceasing to be an Indian. As for me, I have listened patiently to the promises of the Great Father, but his memory is short. I am now done with him. This is all I have to say."

Following this council, the wilder bands dispersed to follow the buffalo, some in the Black Hills region and others in the Big Horn area. Small war parties occasionally attacked stray travelers or raided nearby forts. Red Cloud maintained that he had the right to defend the territory granted to his people by the Treaty of 1868. The land became a haven for outlaws, with white horse thieves and desperadoes exploiting the situation to plunder both immigrants and Indians.

An attempt was made to establish military camps to control the situation and force all the Indians onto reservations. Another commission was sent to negotiate their relocation to Indian Territory, but the offer was rejected outright. After a period of guerrilla warfare, a major military campaign against the Sioux was launched in 1876, culminating in George Custer’s devastating defeat at the Little Bighorn.

Red Cloud did not personally participate in this battle, nor in the earlier engagement with Crook on the Little Rosebud, but his son fought in both battles. By this time, he had become more of a councilor than a warrior, although his young men continued to take to the field. Meanwhile, Spotted Tail had surrendered and was in close contact with government representatives.

The inevitable end was drawing near. One morning in the fall of 1876, Red Cloud was surrounded by U.S. troops under Colonel McKenzie, who disarmed his people and brought them to Fort Robinson, Nebraska. From there, they were moved to the Pine Ridge Agency, where he lived for over thirty years as a "reservation Indian." To further humiliate him, government authorities declared the more compliant Spotted Tail as the head chief of the Sioux. However, Red Cloud’s people never recognized any other chief.

In 1880, he appealed to Professor Marsh of Yale, the head of a scientific expedition to the Badlands, alleging fraud at the agency and providing evidence that warranted an official investigation. In 1890-1891, during the Ghost Dance craze and the ensuing turmoil, he was suspected of colluding with the hostiles, but no concrete evidence was found against him. He was already an old man and had become almost completely blind before his death in 1909, at the age of ninety.

Red Cloud’s personal life was exemplary. He remained faithful to his wife throughout his life and was a devoted father to his children. He harbored great ambitions for his only son, known as Jack Red Cloud, and desired him to become a great warrior. He sent him on the warpath at the age of fifteen, unaware that the era of Indian warfare was nearing its end.

Among the later generation of chiefs, Red Cloud stood out as a quiet, unassuming man, direct in his speech, courageous in his actions, a passionate patriot, and possessing the admirable qualities that characterized the American Indian at his best.

By Charles A. Eastman, 1918.