Crazy Horse: Oglala Lakota War Hero & Protector of the Native Way of Life
By Maeve Kiley
Early Life
Crazy Horse, or Tasunke Witco, was born in the Black Hills (traditionally called “Pahá Sápa” by the Lakota people) of South Dakota, estimated around 1840-1842. He was the son of an Oglala medicine man, also named Crazy Horse, and Rattling Blanket Woman, a member of the Brulé Lakota. He was given the birth name Cha-O-Ha, meaning “Among the Trees”, but his mother nicknamed him “Curly” due to his hair texture.
Crazy Horse was born in a time of great conflict and discrimination. Traditional native ways of life were threatened and the U.S. government was actively campaigning to remove Natives from their ancestral homes. While living under the care of his uncle, Spotted Tail, Crazy Horse watched a group of U.S. soldiers attack Tribal leaders in the midst of a mediation. Spotted Tail led a retaliatory group of warriors to attack the soldiers and rescue their leaders. Crazy Horse returned from a buffalo hunt to discover the village destroyed and eighty-six people dead. The survivors revealed to Crazy Horse that the U.S. cavalry attacked and set the village on fire.
In 1854, when Crazy Horse was a young man entering adulthood, he set on the rite of passage for Lakota Warriors: Hanbleceya, or “crying for a vision.” The Vision Quest ceremony is one of the seven sacred rites given to the Lakota people. Crazy Horse spent several days and nights alone in the hills. His vision detailed his future as not just a great warrior, but a defender of his people against the U.S. government. This profound experience shaped his entire life and he followed the instructions of the vision until his death.
In 1858, Crazy Horse distinguished himself in battle with the Arapaho. Recognizing his son’s incredible battle strategy and bravery, his father gifted his name Tȟašúŋke Witkó (“Crazy Horse”) to his son.
Treaty with General William Tecumseh Sherman
In 1863, gold was discovered along the Bozeman Trail in Montana. The prime, treaty-guaranteed hunting grounds of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho were invaded by settlers desperate for gold via a 500-mile shortcut. The constant rush of people resulted in game disruption and continuous cultural clashes. The Native tribes demanded that the settlers leave, citing the laws of multiple treaties, but the U.S. army had other plans. They built and manned three forts directly in the middle of tribal hunting grounds.
Enraged by the uninvited military forts and broken treaties, Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud forged a tribal alliance. The Lakota provided the bulk of warriors, including Crazy Horse. They launched an incredibly successful guerrilla campaign; attacking forts and chasing off settlers. In 1866, Crazy Horse led a small group of warriors to Fort Phil Kearny. They feigned retreat over the ridge and lured the entire American detachment into a hidden encirclement of nearly 1,000 tribal fighters. This battle, later called The Fetterman Fight, was one of many successful attacks led by Crazy Horse.
The tribes resisted for three years, until the U.S. government sent Captain William Tecumseh Sherman to meet with leaders and seek peace. They signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. The treaty closed the Bozeman Trail and the military forts. The Native tribes were given ownership of the Black Hills, parts of Missouri, and land in Wyoming. No whites were welcomed on those lands under threat of arrest.
Crazy Horse refused to sign the treaty. He deeply distrusted the United States Government and refused to live on a reservation. His followers chose to stay in unceded traditional territories where they could live and hunt in their traditional, nomadic way of life.
Battle of the Little Big Horn
Multiple conflicts occurred between the U.S. army and Crazy Horse’s followers. Crazy Horse found a close ally in Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull. They both rejected reservation and shared the common goal of protecting Native land.
Their greatest partnership occurred in 1876 during The Battle of Little Big Horn. Thousands of Native Americans had previously left their government reservations to hunt and camp together. Desperate to push them back, the army launched a three-pronged campaign. After the Battle of Rosebud, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer entered into battle at Little Big Horn against the advice of his Native guides.
Custer and Crazy Horse had encountered before at Yellowstone River. Custer and 210 troops were illegally entering the Black Hills in search of gold. As many as 1,000 warriors flanked Custer’s forces from the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes. Custer and all 210 of his men were killed in less than an hour.
Crazy Horse’s Arrest & Death
After years of fighting and months spent on the run from the military, Crazy Horse’s band could not win the war. They were constantly harassed by the military and their food source was deliberately cut off. Buffalos were the primary food source of the Lakota people and the systematic destruction of the buffalo herds led by commercial hunters and U.S. military strategy resulted in widespread famine during the winter.
Crazy Horse and his 1,100 followers were taken to the Red Cloud Agency in northwestern Nebraska where he surrendered on May 6, 1877. Crazy Horse was promised a reservation for his band. This promise was never fulfilled. False rumors began circulating that Crazy Horse was plotting a coup.
After a few months on Red Cloud’s Reservation, Crazy Horse left to take his sick wife, Black Shawl Woman, to her family at the Spotted Tail Agency. In September 1877, they traveled for 40 miles to the Agency and when returning home, 40 government scouts arrested him. Crazy Horse was arrested and willingly left to Fort Robinson to clear his name.
On September 5, 1877, Crazy Horse arrived at Fort Robinson. According to Lakota witnesses, Crazy Horse was immediately led to the prison guardhouse. Recognizing the trap, he resisted and grabbed a knife to defend himself. An acquaintance and fellow Lakota, Little Big Man, jumped to restrain Crazy Horse’s arms. A U.S. soldier lunged forward and drove a bayonet deep in Crazy Horse’s back or abdomen depending on eye-witness accounts.
Crazy Horse’s cousin and Lakota Chief Touch the Clouds remained at his side and protected him until his death. Chief Touch the Clouds and other tribal members carried him inside the adjutant’s office to ensure that his last words would be amongst his own people. Crazy Horse reportedly refused to lie on a white man’s cot and requested to be placed on the floor. He passed away a little before midnight on September 5, 1877 at the estimated age of 35 to 37. His family purposefully buried him in a hidden location.
Personal Life & Legacy
There are many historical accounts of the final days of Crazy Horse. The U.S. Army and government officials tried to avoid blame for murdering high-profile, surrendered prisoners, so the military stated there was a sudden, violent escape. These claims were contested and later refuted by Lakota witnesses. Oral traditions passed down by the Lakota witnesses state that his death was a deliberate act and part of a wider assassination effort by the U.S. Army. Cultural and language barriers may have also contributed to the confusion. Some historians believe that army interpreters may have intentionally mistranslated what Crazy Horse said when reaching the jailhouse.
In his personal life, Crazy Horse was reported to be a humble and quiet man. He was known for his generosity; providing food and shelter to the needy. His quiet nature vanished during combat as he rode directly into heavy gunfire with extreme courage. He shunned status symbols and rarely painted his face for war. He notably never kept war trophies and never allowed himself to be photographed due to his spiritual beliefs and desire for privacy.
Crazy Horse was married to Black Shawl who was sent by tribal elders to nurse him after an injury. They married in 1871 and had one daughter named They Are Afraid Of Her. She sadly passed as a toddler in 1873. Crazy Horse has thousands of living extended blood relatives. After his death in 1877, his family had to go into hiding to avoid government persecution. Relatives broke their silence to publicly defend their ancestor’s name in the 2000s during a legal battle.
Numerous sculptures, art pieces, and paintings have been created and dedicated to Crazy Horse and his legacy. Most famously,The Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota. It was originally proposed in 1939 by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear. However, work did not officially begin until June 3, 1948. The project has relied solely on visitor admission fees and private donations rather than government loans. The 87-foot-tall face of Crazy Horse was completed and dedicated in 1998 and work on the hand finished in 2024. Work is still ongoing and it is estimated to be one of the largest statues in the world when completed. The site houses the Indian Museum of North America with thousands of Indigenous artwork and tribal artifacts.
Crazy Horse is remembered for his bravery, brilliant strategies, and a powerful emblem of Indigenous sovereignty and cultural pride.
Continue learning through Lakota voices, including the Edward Clown family’s oral history in Crazy Horse: The Lakota Warrior’s Life & Legacy. Explore the National Museum of the American Indian’s Fort Laramie Treaty resources to better understand the struggle over Lakota homelands. Then connect that history to the present through Wolakota Buffalo Range, where the Sicangu Lakota are bringing buffalo home, restoring prairie ecosystems, and strengthening the cultural relationships that sustain their community.
Works Cited:
Battle of the Little Bighorn. History.com. https://www.history.com/articles/battle-of-the-little-bighorn. A&E Television Networks. (2025, May 28).
Crazy horse 1842 - 1877. PWNA. (2024, November 14). https://nativepartnership.org/crazy-horse-1842-1877/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=15169637421&gbraid=0AAAAAD7SZDGXSe4gEHwb7qaHtrAKsANTu&gclid=CjwKCAjw-rTUBhAiEiwADv8gBMHX3uhZ7elu2a7PwHvdIFwLnXjm4hxOlOe4mv0xs0UQ-6AwBuoH7RoCr-YQAvD_BwE
Crazy horse | biography & facts | britannica. (n.d.). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Crazy-Horse
Crazy horse. History.com. https://www.history.com/articles/crazy-horse. A&E Television Networks. (2026, August 4).
Crazy horse – Lakota Leader & Warrior legacy. Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center. (2026, January 26). https://aktalakota.stjo.org/american-indian-leaders/crazy-horse/
Crazy horse memorial® - home. Crazy Horse Memorial. (n.d.). https://crazyhorsememorial.org/
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