Compensation for the Sioux. About the Lakota (Sioux) Indians and not only about them History of the Sioux

The Plains Sioux were the westernmost part of the Sioux tribes and, accordingly, belonged to the Sioux-speaking family. Their early history was no different from that of other Dakota tribes, but after migrating to the Great Plains in the late 18th century, they began to operate independently of their eastern kin and their culture changed completely.

Horned Elk - Oglala (Sioux) chief

The name Sioux comes from the Ojibway word nadoue-sioux-eg - Viper. The Plains Sioux were also commonly known as Lakotas and Tetons and consisted of seven distinct tribes: 1) Oglalas (Scatterers); 2) minikonju (Planting Seeds on the River Banks); 3) brulee (sichangu, Burnt Thighs); 4) ochenonpas (Two Cauldrons); 5) itazipcho (sans-arc, Without Bows); 6) Sihasaps (Blackfoot Sioux); 7) Hunkpapas (Pitching Tents at the Ends of the Camp Circle). The largest of these tribes were the Brule and Oglalas.

Many tribes called the Sioux Head Cutters or Throat Cutters, which was indicated in sign language by moving the hand along the throat. The Kiowa called them Kodalpa-kiago - People of the Necklace, referring to the so-called hair pipes, which, according to the Kiowa, were brought to the Plains by the Sioux. In sign language, the sign for cut throat and hairpipe are identical. This is most likely a Kiowa mistake and their name comes from a misunderstanding of the tribe's sign language designation.

At various times, the Plains Sioux fought with the Hidatsa, Cheyennes, Blackfeet, Shoshones, Bannocks, Kootenays, Utes and Flatheads. It was very difficult for the Sioux to maintain long-term peace with any of the neighboring tribes - they were too numerous, warlike, scattered over a vast territory and ruled by different people. The main enemies of the various Sioux tribes were their neighbors. Thus, the main enemies of the Brule were the Arikara and the Pawnee. The main enemies of the Oglalas were the Crows. “The war between these two peoples,” Denig wrote in 1855, “has been going on for so long that no one living now remembers when it began.” Until 1846, the Miniconju fought mainly with the Arikara, Mandan and Hidatsa. In addition, from ancient times they often joined the Oglalas on expeditions against the Crows. By 1846, buffalo numbers began to decline, and the Miniconjou realized that it was in their best interest to make peace with the Arikara, from whom they received maize in exchange for hides and meat. The Hunkpapa, Sihasap and Itazipcho were also at peace with the Arikara at this time, but were at war with the Mandan, Hidatsa and Crow.

The Sioux were always fierce and brave warriors, proving this in numerous battles with Indian enemies and American soldiers. And although sometimes you have to deal with contrary remarks, they can rather be attributed to annoying boasting. George Grinnell, for example, “heard the Cheyennes... say... about the Sioux that fighting them was like chasing buffalo, because the Sioux ran away so fast that the Cheyennes had to push their horses as hard as they could to overtake and kill them." The Pawnee, undoubtedly one of the greatest warriors of the Plains, boasted that the reason that "the Sioux have so many communities is that whenever a Sioux warrior succeeds in killing a Pawnee or counting on him, it is considered an act of such significance that he becomes a chief, takes his family and founds a new community." Denig wrote in 1855 that in a war between the Brulé Sioux and the Pawnee and Arikara, the former tended to be more successful. He believed that the Miniconju were "better fighters than the Arikara and took more risks in battle." In the war between the Sioux and Crows, he said, the Crows killed more Sioux, and the Sioux stole more horses from them. The explanation for this lies in the fact that their military detachments more often penetrated the lands of the Crows, and the latter more often had to defend themselves by killing Sioux horse thieves.

The relationship between the Plains Sioux and white people before the emigration to (the modern states of Oregon, Nevada, California) was quite peaceful, although sometimes small groups of travelers were attacked by them. The Tetons signed their first treaty with the US government in 1815 at Portage de Sous, and it was confirmed by a treaty dated June 22, 1825 at Fort Lookout, South Dakota. But by the early 1850s, the attitude of various Sioux tribes towards white people began to change noticeably. The Brulés, Oglalas, and Ochenonpes were very friendly and welcomed traders and travelers to their camps. Traders rarely had problems with the Oglalas, and they considered them "one of the best Indians in these lands." The Miniconjou were more aggressive and, according to Denig, "always the wildest of all the Sioux." Regarding the remaining three tribes, Denig wrote in 1855: “The Hunkpapas, Sihasapas and Itazipchos occupy practically a single area, often camp next to each other and act together.” He noted that their attitude toward the traders had always been hostile, and reported: “Today the traders cannot feel safe entering their camps... They kill every white man they meet, commit robberies and destroy any property around the forts on Yellowstone. .. Every year they become more and more hostile and today they are even more dangerous than the Blackfeet.”

Oglal Chief Red Cloud

The path to Oregon and California along the Oregon Trail along the river. The Platte passed through the Sioux country, and when the caravans of settlers arrived, problems began with the previously peaceful tribes. The settlers not only scared away and killed game, burned the already small number of trees growing on the Plains, but also brought new diseases to which the Indians had no immunity, which is why they died in the hundreds. The Brule were the closest, and they suffered more than other Sioux from smallpox, cholera, measles and other diseases. Previously, according to Denig, “the Brule... were excellent hunters, usually dressed well, had enough meat for food and a huge number of horses, spent their time hunting buffalo, catching wild horses and waged war with the Arikara... and Pawnee ", then by the mid-1850s their situation had changed dramatically. “Today they are divided into small communities, poorly dressed, there is almost no game on their lands, and they have very few horses,” Denig wrote. The Oglalas also became hostile, and the remaining Sioux tribes, as stated above, had not previously been particularly fond of the white race. Only the smaller and more peaceful Ochenonpas did not show hostility. It was reported about them: “They fight little with anyone and hunt a lot, treat white people well and have many friends among them.”

The situation escalated and eventually led to war, which, with temporary truces, continued until the end of the 1870s. The Sioux were too strong a people to calmly watch their people die from disease and their children starve. Denig very accurately predicted in 1855 that the Sioux would undoubtedly attack caravans, rob and kill settlers until the government took measures “for their complete destruction.” He noted with regret that circumstances were such that it was simply impossible to avoid such a development of events.

In the summer of 1845, the first soldiers appeared on the Sioux lands, whose task was to protect the settlers. Colonel Stephen Kearney walked along the river. Platt led a troop of dragoons to demonstrate to the tribes the strength of American arms. He met the Sioux on the river. Laramie warned that if they caused trouble for the settlers, the soldiers would seriously punish them. The cholera, measles, and smallpox epidemics of 1849 and 1850 left hundreds of Indians dead. The Sioux and Cheyenne began to talk about war. In 1851, a grand council was held at Fort Laramie with Indians of different tribes: the Sioux, Cheyenne, Crow, Shoshone and others promised to stop fighting each other and not attack settlers, and the US government, in turn, would pay them an annual annuity in goods . Since dealing with the leaders of numerous communities was difficult, the Indians were asked to appoint paramount chiefs for each tribe. The leader of all the Sioux was the insignificant Brule chief Attacking Bear. It was difficult for the Indians to understand how one person could be the leader of all the independent Sioux tribes, and later they began to be called paper leaders. They did not enjoy authority among their fellow tribesmen.

The first skirmish between the Sioux and the US Army occurred on June 15, 1853, when one of the Miniconjus visiting the Oglalas asked a soldier to take him by boat to the other side. The soldier sent the red man to hell, and he shot him with a bow. The next day, a detachment of twenty-three soldiers, led by Lieutenant Hugh Fleming, went to the Oglala camp to arrest the "outlaw." It is not known who fired the first shot, but five Sioux died in the skirmish (according to other sources, 3 Indians were killed, 3 were wounded and 2 were captured). It was only thanks to the intervention of the leaders that the battle did not turn into a massacre. A few days later, the Oglalas attacked a small settler camp, killing four. The soldiers again advanced from the fort and fired upon the first Indians they encountered, killing one and wounding another.

The first serious clash between the Sioux and the army occurred on August 19, 1854 and in the history of the Great Plains it was called the Battle of Grattan in the village of Brule and the Grattan Massacre. Miniconjou Sioux, who was visiting the Brule, killed a cow abandoned by the settler, and he complained to the commander of Fort Laramie, Lieutenant Hugh Fleming. Chief Charge Bear immediately offered to give the settler a horse as payment, but Fleming did not consider the matter serious, intending to postpone it until the arrival of the Indian agent. But one of the officers of the garrison, Lieutenant John Grattan, who had no experience in dealing with Indians, constantly boasting that with twenty soldiers he could defeat all the Sioux combined, persuaded Fleming to send him to the Indian camp to arrest the culprit. He set out from the fort accompanied by 31 volunteers, including the half-drunk translator Lucien Auguste, and with two mountain howitzers. Twice along the way he was warned of danger. Professional guide Aubridge Allen galloped up to him and pointed out that the Oglalas were driving herds towards the camp, which meant they were preparing for battle. A little later, merchant James Bordo asked him to stop: “She (the cow) lay exhausted from thirst and hunger and would soon die. She couldn’t even walk because her legs were cut to the bone.” The Sioux were waiting for the soldiers, but did not want to fight. Firstly, the reason for the war with the white people was too insignificant, and secondly, there were many women and children in their camps. Auguste, riding on his horse, brandished a pistol and uttered war cries, shouting to the Indians that they were women and by dawn he would devour their hearts. The attacking Bear, along with others, tried to negotiate with Grattan, but to no avail. None of the Sioux chiefs had sufficient power to hand over free members of the community. The infantry fired a volley of howitzers, after which the Oglalas and Brulés attacked them and killed every single one of them. Later, 24 arrows were counted in Grattan's body, one of which pierced his skull. They could identify him only by his pocket watch. The attacking Bear was mortally wounded and died, asking his fellow tribesmen not to avenge his death. Bordeaux spent the whole night distributing his cattle and goods to the angry Indians, convincing them not to attack the fort. By morning, he and the senior leaders managed to cool the ardor of the warriors.

But many young warriors wanted revenge. Charge Bear's older brother, Red Leaf, along with four warriors, including future Brule chief Spotted Tail, attacked a stagecoach on November 13 near Horse Creek, Wyoming. The Indians killed three people and captured a metal box containing $20,000 in gold. The money was never discovered.

Minor Sioux attacks on the settlers continued, and a punitive expedition was sent against them under the command of General Harney. At dawn on September 3, 1855, 600 soldiers attacked the small Brule camp of Little Thunder on the river. Blue Water - 41 teepees, 250 people. Within half an hour, 86 Indians (mostly women and children) were killed, women and children captured, and the camp destroyed. About a hundred survivors of the Brulé tragedy were able to escape. Harney lost 7 people killed and 5 wounded. This attack became known as the Battle of Ash Hollow or, less commonly, the Battle of Bluewater Creek. Harney took the prisoners to Fort Laramie, gathered the leaders of the peaceful communities there and sternly warned them that retribution for the attacks would be inevitable. Wanting to further amaze the Indians with the capabilities of the white man, he declared that the white man could not only kill, but also revive. The military surgeon gave the dog a dose of chloroform. The Indians examined her and confirmed to the general that she was “completely dead.” “Now,” Harney ordered the surgeon, “revive her.” The doctor tried for a long time to revive the dog, but probably exceeded the dose of the medicine, and no miracle happened. The Laughing Indians went their separate ways, agreeing to meet secretly the following summer to unite all the Sioux in the fight against the white invaders.

The American Civil War in 1861 drew soldiers away from Western military posts, leaving the settler routes largely undefended until 1865, and the Sioux felt free to periodically launch small-scale raids on white travelers. But this could not last long, and on July 12, 1864, the Sioux struck. When a caravan from Kansas, consisting of ten settlers, reached Fort Laramie, the people from the fort convinced them that the further journey was safe and the Indians were very friendly. As they left Laramie, several more wagons joined them. After crossing the river. About two hundred Oglalas appeared in Little Box Elder, showing their friendliness. The settlers fed them, after which they unexpectedly attacked the white people. Three men managed to escape, but five were killed on the spot. The Indians plundered the wagons and took with them two women, Mrs. Kelly and Mrs. Larimer, and two children. At night, while a military party was moving, Mrs. Kelly helped her little daughter slide off her horse, hoping that she would be able to escape, but she was not so lucky. The girl's father later found her body riddled with arrows and scalped. The next night Mrs. Larimer and her son managed to escape. Fanny Kelly spent about six months among the Redskins and was returned to Fort Sully by Sioux chiefs in December.

The next major battle took place on July 28, 1864, and was called the Battle of Mount Killdeer. General Alfred Sully, with 2,200 soldiers and 8 howitzers, attacked the Teton camp in pursuit of the Santee Sioux fleeing Minnesota after the Little Crow Rebellion. The Sioux awaited his soldiers on the forested slopes of the Killdeer Mountains. The Sioux camp was huge and consisted of about 1,600 tipis, in which lived 8,000 Hunkpapa, Santee, Sihasap, Yanktonai, Itazipcho and Miniconjou. In total there were about 2000 soldiers in the camp. Sully later claimed that there were more than 5,000 warriors, but this is nonsense. According to the Indians themselves, there were no more than 1,600 warriors. Sally ordered the artillerymen to open fire. The Teton Sioux, led by Sitting Bull and Bile, occupied the right flank, and the Yanktonai and Santee, led by Inkpaduta, took the left. The battle was long and difficult, but Sully tried his best to avoid hand-to-hand combat, relying on the fire of rifles and cannons from a long distance. In addition, the soldiers outnumbered the Indians. Most of the Indians were armed only with bows and arrows. The women managed to take away some of the tents and contents of the camp before the troops entered it. Sully burned hundreds of tipis, forty tons of pemmican, and shot about three thousand dogs. Sully lost five men killed and ten wounded. According to Sally, his men killed at least one and a half hundred Indians, but this, like his reports about the number of the enemy, is nothing more than nonsense. In fact, about 30 warriors died on the Sioux side - mostly Santee and Yanktonai fugitives. At night the Sioux left, and Sully declared a crushing victory over them.

Sally's column continued west and on August 5 came to the edge of the Badlands - 40 miles of 180-meter-deep canyons and insurmountable cliffs. However, knowing that on the other side - on the river. Yellowstone - supply boats are waiting for his people, Sully has entered the canyons.

Gall - Hunkpapa Sioux chief

Two days later, on August 7, while the soldiers were camped on the river. Little Missouri, they were attacked by the Sioux. One group rained down arrows on them from a height of 150-meter cliffs, while the other took away some of the horses. The next day, Sally's column crossed the river and moved across the plateau, where Sioux warriors were already waiting for them. They surrounded the soldiers on three sides, but howitzer fire drove them away. This did not cool the ardor of the Redskins, and the next morning, August 9, about a thousand warriors appeared in front of the column. Once again, howitzers and long-range rifles helped the soldiers repel the Indians. By evening the Sioux left the battlefield, and the next day Sally went out into the open and reached the river. Yellowstone. These three days cost the well-armed army nine killed and hundreds wounded. With bows and arrows in their hands, the Sioux were able to show two thousand soldiers what they were worth. These events became known as the Battles of the Badlands.

The Sioux struck again on September 2, 1864. James Fisk, who led a caravan of 88 wagons containing 200 settlers and gold miners heading to the mines of Montana, requested an Army escort to Fort Rice, North Dakota. He was provided with 47 cavalry, led by Lieutenant Smith. When the caravan was already 130 miles from Fort Rice, one of the wagons overturned, and the drivers of the other two stopped to help the victims. Nine soldiers were left to guard the stragglers, and the caravan continued on its way. Soon the Hunkpapa chief appeared with a hundred warriors and attacked the lagging wagons. The caravan had already moved a mile away, but the people in it heard shooting, and a detachment of 50 soldiers and volunteers led by Fisk hurried to the rescue. By then the Hunkpapas were already robbing the wagons. The Indians forced Fisk and his men to take a defensive position and fight back until sunset. At night they managed to sneak up to the caravan placed in a circle, but the Indians did not appear there. Ten soldiers and two civilians were killed that day, and the Indians took guns and 4,000 cartridges from the three wagons attacked. The next day the caravan continued its journey, but had not gone more than a few miles when it was again attacked by Indians. Fisk and his men managed to place the wagons in a circle and build an embankment around them. The besieged named their fortification Fort Dilts, in honor of the scout killed by the Redskins. The Sioux held off the settlers and soldiers for several days, but were never able to break through the defenses. On the night of September 5–6, Lieutenant Smith, accompanied by thirteen men, slipped past the Indians and hurried to Fort Rice for help. The settlers had to wait in place for another two weeks before 900 soldiers sent by General Sully arrived to their rescue and escorted them to Fort Rice.

In early June 1865, the government decided to move the "friendly Sioux" living at Fort Laramie to Fort Kearney to keep them out of the way during the upcoming punitive campaigns—about 185 tipis, or 1,500 people. Fort Kearney was located in Pawnee territory, and the Sioux feared that they would certainly attack them with all their might. They set out east on June 11, accompanied by 135 cavalrymen led by Captain William Fouts. About 30 civilians and Charles Elliston's Indian Police Department also went with them. The Indians were allowed to keep their weapons. This campaign turned into a nightmare for the Sioux. Little boys who ran were tied to the wheels of wagons by the soldiers and whipped. For fun, they threw small children into the cold waters of the river. Platt, laughing as the kids tried to get ashore. At night, soldiers took young girls away by force and raped them. Two days later they set up camp on Horse Creek - the soldiers stood on the east bank, and the Indians on the west. That night, the leader of the hostile Sioux, Crazy Horse, appeared at the Indian camp with several Oglalas. Other Oglala warriors took cover in the distance. He met with the leaders of the resettled Sioux, and at a council they decided to leave the soldiers. On the morning of June 14, Captain Fouts rode into the Indian camp with several soldiers to force them to move on, but the Sioux no longer obeyed him. He and three privates were shot, the rest fled. Later, the military made several attempts to punish the apostates, but were repulsed. This event is called the Battle of Horse Creek or Fouts' Scramble.

When Colonel Thomas Moonlight, commander of Fort Laramie, learned of what had happened, he quickly organized a pursuit and set out with 234 cavalrymen. The soldiers made a difficult journey of 120 miles in two days. One hundred people were forced to turn back because their horses were exhausted. On the morning of June 17, the column traveled twenty miles before breakfast, after which it settled in for a rest. Moonlight did not pay attention to the warnings of experienced officers who recommended that he take the protection of horses more seriously. As a result, the Sioux stole almost the entire herd (74 horses), injuring a couple of soldiers. Left without horses, the cavalrymen were forced to destroy their saddles and other riding equipment and return on foot to Fort Laramie. On July 18, 1865, General Grenville Dodge, commander of the Department of Missouri, reported: “Colonel Moonlight allowed the Indians to surprise his camp and steal the herd. I ordered his dismissal from service."

At the end of July, Sitting Bull gathered four hundred warriors and attacked Fort Rice on the 28th. When the Sioux appeared on the hill, Lieutenant Colonel John Patty led the soldiers out of the gate, placing them around the stockade. The Sioux attacked with bows, but rifle and howitzer fire stopped them. The battle lasted three hours, but the Sioux were unable to break through the heavy fire of the defenders, although they managed to kill two soldiers and wound three, while losing about a dozen of their own.

In August 1865, to the territory of the river. Powder was sent to Connor's punitive expedition, which ended in complete failure.

Sitting Bull - Hunkpapa Sioux Chief

In 1866, on the “Bozman Way” - the road of settlers through the territory of the river. Powder since 1863 - two forts were established to protect white settlers - Phil Kearney and Fort Reno. The influx of white people could not help but provoke a war. On December 21, 1866, in the vicinity of Fort Phil Kearney, Wyoming, the combined forces of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho killed a detachment of Fetterman's soldiers - 81 people, no one managed to escape. The fierce battle lasted only half an hour. And although the Indians were armed mainly with bows and arrows, they were full of determination. Indian losses: Cheyenne - 2 warriors, Arapaho - 1, and Sioux - about 60. In addition, about 100 Redskins were wounded. This was the first time in the Great Plains Wars that such a large body of soldiers had been completely slaughtered. The event shocked America and was called the Fetterman Massacre.

In 1867, the Union Pacific Railroad was built through the Sioux lands, and the number of white men ruining their hunting grounds and pastures became catastrophic. The Sioux fought hard to hold them off. After the annual Sun Dance ceremony, many Sioux and Cheyenne communities decided to attack military posts along the hated Bozeman Trail, along which settler caravans moved west. About two and a half miles from Fort Smith, Montana, there was a small stockade that served as protection for workers preparing hay for the army herd. On the morning of August 1, twenty infantrymen under the command of Lieutenant Sigismund Sternberg set out to guard six hayfields. Some time later, the stockade was attacked by a huge detachment of Sioux and Cheyennes, but the new Springfield repeating rifles served the whites well. Having retreated, the warriors set fire to the hay. The flame was already about six meters from the palisade when the wind changed. The Indians attacked again. Lieutenant Sternberg tried to cheer up the soldiers: “Get up, guys, and fight like soldiers!” But these were his last words, the bullet pierced his head. Sergeant James Norton took command, but he soon fell. One of the soldiers managed to break through to Fort Smith for help, but reinforcements arrived only several hours later. The Indians killed six and lost eight warriors themselves. This battle went down in history as the Battle of Hayfield or the Battle of Hayfield.

The next day (August 2, 1867), but already five miles from Fort Phil Kearney, Wyoming, a huge force of Sioux, mainly Oglalas, Miniconjou and Itazipcho, attacked the camp of lumberjacks, who were accompanied by an escort of 51 infantrymen led by Capt. James Powell and Lieutenant John Jennes. Some of the soldiers and loggers were attacked by the Indians outside the camp or on the way to the fort, and they fought back on their own. 24 soldiers and 6 lumberjacks took cover behind the wagons placed in a circle. Several hundred mounted Sioux rushed towards the wagons, but were repulsed by the new Springfield repeating rifles. Then they dismounted and began to creep up. During the second attack, Lieutenant Jennes remained standing, ignoring the warnings of his comrades. “I myself know how to fight Indians!” - he declared and fell with a bullet through his forehead. In four and a half hours, the defenders repulsed eight Sioux attacks. After some time, reinforcements of a hundred soldiers with a mountain howitzer arrived from the fort, and the Indians retreated. When the battle ended, four more lumberjacks and fourteen soldiers who had been hiding there during the battle emerged from the forest. In all, seven white people were killed and two were wounded. Powell reported that his men killed 60 Indians and wounded 120, but such grand claims of heroism by army officials were common. According to historian George Hyde, Indian casualties were six killed and six wounded. This event became known in Great Plains history as the Battle of the Wagon Box.

Colonel David Stanley

The 1873 Yellowstone Expedition, commanded by Colonel David Stanley, consisted of 1,500 soldiers, including ten companies of Lt. Col. George Custer's 7th Cavalry, and 400 civilians. The soldiers were sent as escorts to the Northern Pacific Railroad's exploration party. When the advance detachment stopped to rest on August 4 and unsaddled its horses, six Indians appeared and tried to lead the herd away. The cavalrymen gave chase. As they stopped, the Indians also stopped, and their pursuers realized that the redskins were trying to lure them into a trap. Soon about three hundred Sioux appeared. The soldiers dismounted, took up defensive positions and began to fire back. The warriors did not attack them, but tried to set fire to the grass, but it did nothing. The sides fired at each other from a long distance, after which the Indians began to leave. One of the cavalrymen was wounded, and three of the Indians were wounded. Three more Americans, surprised on the plain, were killed. Stanley's expedition continued moving up the river. Yellowstone and on the evening of August 10 set up camp at the mouth of the river. Bighorn. The next morning, the Sioux and Cheyenne opened such massive fire from the southern shore that the cavalrymen had to move their herds away so that the horses would not be harmed. About five hundred soldiers fired. For some time the sides fired at each other, after which two hundred redskins crossed the river downstream. The soldiers drove them away, but soon more warriors joined the Indians. However, the Indians failed to break through the American defenses, and they left.

In 1875, Sioux and Cheyenne attacks on gold miners in the Black Hills began, escalating into a full-scale war called the Sioux War for the Black Hills. The two main events that caused it were the exploration expedition of the Northern Pacific Railroad into the lands of the river. Yellowstone in the summer of 1873 and the confirmation of gold in the Black Hills, resulting in an influx of gold prospectors into Sioux lands. It was reported that as early as the summer of 1875, at least 800 gold miners had settled in the Black Hills. The government attempted to negotiate the sale of the Hills territory with Oglala Chief Red Cloud and Brulé Chief Spotted Tail, who visited Washington in June 1875, offering $6,000,000, but they refused, asking for ten times the amount offered. The general sentiment of the Sioux was expressed by the Hunkpapa chief Sitting Bull: “We don’t want white people here. The Black Hills belong to me, and if they try to take them away from me, I will fight.” The government solved the problem in its usual way. Messengers were sent to all the Redskins' winter camps, informing them that they must arrive on the reservation by the end of January 1876, otherwise they would be considered hostile. Roaming during winter snowstorms was tantamount to suicide, and the Indians remained in place. A punitive expedition was organized against them, the only success of which was the destruction of the Cheyenne camp of Two Moons on March 17, 1876 on the river. Powder by Colonel Joseph Reynolds. The summer campaign was planned more seriously. Hundreds of soldiers came out from different sides to completely defeat the Indians.

General Crook

June 17, 1876 on the river. Rosebud, Montana, took place one of the most serious battles in the history of the conquest of the Great Plains - the Battle of Rosebud. Scouts from Sitting Bull's camp discovered a large force of General Crook's soldiers (47 officers, 1,000 men, 176 Crows and 86 Shoshones), and a huge force of Sioux and Cheyenne attacked them on a night march. For the soldiers this was a complete surprise. In the morning an Indian scout appeared on the hill. He raced down the hill shouting, “Sioux!” Having entered the camp, he announced that the Sioux would soon attack, after which the soldiers immediately heard a war cry. The Crow and Shoshone scouts were the first to take the blow. It is believed that it was thanks to their participation in the battle that the soldiers avoided complete defeat. According to Walter S. Campbell, the old Sioux and Cheyenne Indians who fought in the battle, whom he knew personally, called the Battle of Rosebud the Battle of Our Indian Enemies. The forces of both sides were almost identical - approximately 1200 fighters. Sioux leader Crazy Horse later said that 36 Sioux and Cheyenne were killed and another 63 warriors were wounded. It is known that Crook's red scouts captured 13 scalps. Crook's losses were 9 soldiers killed and 21 wounded, 1 Indian scout killed and 7 wounded. Despite minor losses, Crook was forced to curtail the military campaign. His soldiers expended about 25,000 rounds of ammunition in the battle, virtually eliminating all their ammunition. This amount would be enough to shoot every Indian participating in the battle twenty times. After the battle, Crook retreated and withdrew his troops while the Indians celebrated their victory. Beautiful Shield, a Crow shaman, whose husband Walking Ahead was among Crook's scouts, spoke of this battle: “Three Stars (General Crook) wanted the Crow warriors to join him, so that they could be with him when he taught their old enemies a good lesson. . But something different happened, and he himself received a good thrashing. And, of course, the Crows and Shoshones who were with him did not escape it either.”

Colonel George Custer

The next major battle occurred a few days later on June 25, 1876 and became known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. George Custer's forces consisted of 617 soldiers, 30 scouts, and 20 civilians. Custer's scouts discovered a huge Indian camp on the river. Little Bighorn - from 1500 to 2000 warriors. Indian scouts warned Custer that there were more hostile Sioux and Cheyennes on the Little Bighorn than his soldiers had bullets, but this did not stop the white warrior. He divided his forces into three - a mistake that cost him his life. Custer, who planned to run for president of the country, needed this victory, and he was ready to take the risk. But he did not imagine that the camp could be so huge. Crow scouts said that before the battle the general often drank from the bottle and was already drunk by the beginning of the battle. One of the Crow scout's wives later said, "It must have been a lot of whiskey that made that great soldier chief stupid the day he died." In the ensuing battle, the Indians completely, to a single man, killed Custer's detachment (more than 200 people), and forced the remaining two detachments to retreat and take up defensive positions. In total, approximately 253 soldiers and officers, 5 civilians and 3 Indian Scouts were killed, and 53 were wounded. Indian losses amounted to about 35 soldiers killed and 80 wounded. According to the Sioux Rain on the Face, killing soldiers "was like killing sheep." Beautiful Shield, a Crow woman, recalled: “All summer, the lands surrounding the battlefield stank of corpses, and we were even forced to move our camps further away from there because we could not stand the smell... For more than a year, people of my tribe found the remains of soldiers and Sioux in the vicinity of the Little Bighorn River."

Chief Little Rana

When Custer's complete defeat became known, America was shocked. The US Congress called for an increase in the size of the army and to stop feeding peaceful, reservation Sioux until they give up the lands in the river area. Powder and Black Hills. The hungry Indians agreed. “We were blushing with shame,” recalled one of the white officials who signed the agreement. Military action was also not long in coming. On September 9, 1876, Captain Anson Mills's men from General Crook's column attacked and destroyed the camp of Chief Ironhead on Slim Buttes in South Dakota. About 130 soldiers attacked the small camp of 37 tipis and drove the Indians into the hills. The Sioux fought back until General Crook arrived with reinforcements and forced them to surrender. In the afternoon, warriors from the Crazy Horse camp in the vicinity rode to the rescue, but the soldiers drove them away, after which Crook ordered the camp to be destroyed. Crook's losses were 3 killed and 15 wounded. Sioux casualties were 14 killed and 23 captured. Chief American Horse was mortally wounded and died the same day. Thus ended the Battle of Slim Buttes.

In October, Colonel Nelson Miles with a column of 449 men explored the area of ​​the river. Yellowstone in search of the Sioux. On October 20, he caught up with Sitting Bull's camp on the eastern tributary of the river. Cider Creek, Montana. Long negotiations followed, after which Miles and Sitting Bull returned to their camps, confident that the next day they would have to fight instead of negotiate. The next day, October 21, Miles pulled up infantrymen to the Indian camp. Negotiations began again, but, realizing their pointlessness, Sitting Bull interrupted them, after which the soldiers attacked. According to some accounts, there were about 900 warriors in the camp, but they could not withstand modern rifles and artillery fire, and after a difficult battle the Sioux retreated, leaving their camp and tons of meat supplies. There were only two wounded among the soldiers, and five Sioux corpses were found on the battlefield.

Colonel Nelson Miles

In the fall of 1876, the War Department organized another powerful expedition, the purpose of which was to capture or destroy the last bands of hostile Indians who had defeated Crook and Custer in June of that year. On November 25, Colonel Mackenzie destroyed the Cheyenne camp of Dull Knife and Little Wolf. On December 18, 1876, Colonel Nelson Miles attacked the Sitting Bull community on Ash Creek, which consisted of 122 tipis. Miles began the battle by strafing the camp with howitzers. When the soldiers burst into it, it turned out that the bulk of the soldiers were hunting. The Indians lost 60 horses and mules, 90 tipis and one man killed. In December 1876, several Sioux chiefs came to Fort Kef under a white flag, but the Crow scouts jumped out and killed them. On January 7, 1877, Miles camped in the Wolf Mountains and, expecting an Indian attack, ordered his soldiers to build an embankment around the camp. The next morning, Crazy Horse appeared with 500 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors and attacked the soldiers. However, howitzer fire prevented the Indians from approaching, and after five hours of fighting they left. Five Indians and three soldiers were killed.

It became increasingly difficult to resist US military force, and in January 1877, Sitting Bull visited Crazy Horse's camp on the river. Tank, saying that he wants to go to Canada. They discussed the possibility of surrender, to which Sitting Bull said, “I don’t want to die yet.”

In the spring of 1877, tired of the endless war, the Sioux began to lay down their arms and surrender. On April 5, more than 600 Indians surrendered to General Crook after negotiations with Spotted Tail, who acted as peacekeeper. On April 14, they came to Spotted Tail's agency and surrendered to about 900 Itazipcho and Miniconju led by Red Bear and Cloud Toucher. On May 6, Crazy Horse himself capitulated. He brought 889 Oglalas with him to the Red Cloud agency - 217 adult men, 672 women and children. His soldiers surrendered 117 guns. But the American authorities continued to fear the great Sioux leader, and on May 7, 1877, he was treacherously killed at Fort Robinson. But there were still free Indians in the United States, and on September 7, 1877, Miles with a detachment of 471 people attacked the camp (61 tipis) of the Lame Deer miniconjou, who vowed never to surrender. The leader was killed, the camp was captured, and Miles nearly died during the battle. The soldiers killed about 30 miniconjou, wounded 20, captured 40, and 200 escaped. The soldiers lost 4 killed and 9 wounded. In addition, Miles destroyed the camp and half the horses of the captured herd of 450 head.

Sitting Bull and his Hunkpapas went to Canada, where he promised the authorities to live in peace and obey the laws. He refused to return to the United States, saying: “That land is poisoned with blood.” With him went the Miniconjou of the Black Eagle, the Oglalas of the Great Road, and the Itazipcho of the Spotted Eagle. The Sioux felt safe in Canada, but due to lack of food they were forced at times to cross the US border, which was patrolled by 676 soldiers and 143 Indian scouts of Colonel Nelson Miles. July 17, 1879 at the mouth of Beaver Creek on the river. Milk, Montana, soldiers discovered the camp of 300 Sitting Bull Sioux. A battle took place, as a result of which the Indians retreated. Both sides lost three people killed. In late 1880, several Sioux communities were forced to surrender to the Poplar River Agency, Montana. They were very restless, and the Indian agent asked for more troops. On January 2, 1881, 300 soldiers marched toward an Indian camp containing about 400 Sioux men, women, and children. The soldiers attacked, supported by fire from two howitzers, and the Sioux fled. 8 Indians died, 324 surrendered, and 60 escaped. The army confiscated 200 horses and 69 rifles and revolvers.

Indian Policeman Red Tomahawk

As a result of numerous attempts, the Americans managed to convince Sitting Bull and his people to return to the United States, where he lived for some time on a reservation, but on December 15, 1890, he was killed by Indian police who intended to arrest him on the orders of an Indian agent. “Under no circumstances let him leave” was their order.

In 1890, many plains tribes embraced a new religious doctrine called the Dance of the Spirits. The prophet Wovoka declared that if the Indians observed certain rituals and performed the Dance of the Spirits, the white people would disappear, the buffalo would return, and the red kinsmen would rise from the dead. The authorities, fearing a new uprising, tried to stop the desperate Indians. On December 28, 1890, Colonel Forsyth's 470 soldiers surrounded the Big Foot Miniconjou Sioux camp at Wounded Knee Creek - about 300 frozen, half-starved Indians. The next day, December 29, Forsyth tried to convince the leader that his people “will be completely safe in the hands of their old soldier friends, and famine and other problems will fortunately end.” But when the soldiers disarmed the Indians, as a result of a misunderstanding, an unequal battle began with the use of artillery, during which 128 people, mostly women and children, were killed. This event is known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. “Who would have thought that dancing could lead to such disaster? - Short Bull asked the Sioux bitterly. “We didn’t need trouble... we didn’t even think about war.” If we wanted war, why were we unarmed?” But desperate, hungry and practically unarmed Indians were able to give a worthy rebuff. Forsyth lost 25 men killed and 35 wounded—only the 7th Cavalry suffered more casualties on the Little Bighorn than in that battle.

Events infuriated the rest of the Sioux, and only through the skillful actions of the authorities and peaceful leaders was it possible to avoid a new uprising, although the next day the Sioux killed two more soldiers and wounded seven. The events at Wounded Knee were the last armed conflict in the history of Indian wars.

Number of Sioux

The approximate number of Plains Sioux in different years was: Lewis and Clark (1804): Brule - 300 warriors, Oglala - 150 warriors, Miniconju - 250. According to their information, the total number of Tetons was 4000 people, of which 1000 were warriors, but these data are undoubtedly very underestimated. Denig (1833): Brule - 500 tipis, Oglalas - 300 tipis, Miniconju - 260 tipis, Sihasaps - 220 tipis, Hunkpapas - 150 tipis, Ochenonpas and Itazipchos - 100 tipis each. Denig indicated the number of Sioux in 1833 at a rate of 5 people. per tipi, that is, a total of about 1630 tipis for 5 people. in everyone. Thus, according to his calculations, the number of Tetons in 1833 was about 8150 people. According to the Indian Bureau, the total Teton population in 1843 was 12,000. Ramsay (1849) - more than 6,000 people. Culbertson (1850): Oglalas - 400 tipis, Miniconju - 270 tipis, Sihasapas - 450 tipis, Hunkpapas - 320 tipis, Ochenonpas - 60 tipis, Itazipcho - 250 tipis. Riggs (1851) - less than 12,500 people. Agent Vaughan (1853): Brule - 150 tipis, Miniconju - 225 tipis, Sihasaps - 150 tipis, Hunkpapas - 286 tipis, Ochenonpas - 165 tipis, Itazipcho - 160 tipis. Warren (1855): Miniconju - 200 tipis, Sihasaps - 150 tipis, Hunkpapas - 365 tipis, Ochenonpas - 100 tipis, Itazipcho - 170 tipis. Warren wrote in 1855 regarding the Ochenonpes that “today many of them are scattered among the other tribes” of the Sioux. Denig (1855): brulee - 150 tipis of 5 people. in each, Oglala - 180 tipis for 3-4 people. in everyone. Agent Twiss (1856): brulee - 250 tipis. At the same time, Twiss noted that he carefully counted them when they came to receive annual gifts under the agreement. According to Indian Bureau data for 1861, the total population of the Tetons was 8,900 people, but these data are probably underestimated, because in 1890 the Tetons numbered 16,426 people, of which the Upper Brule alone accounted for 3,245 people, and the Lower Brule brulee - 1026.

Text by Yu. Stukalin

Black Hills. South Dakota.
Museum of North American Indians.
30.09. Continuation.

Not far from the Crazy Horse Memorial there is a building
Learning Center and Museum of North American Indians.

Today the Museum houses a rich collection of Indian relics
and historical items.

This exhibition is recognized as one of the best and most comprehensive in the world.

There are thousands of exhibits telling about life
Indian tribes of North America.

American Indians Prissilla Engin and Freda
Goodsell (Oglala Lakota) who work at the museum are ready to respond
to answer questions and talk about the exhibited art objects
and handicrafts.

Donovin Sprague, University Lecturer, Representative
Minneconju Lakota tribe, can also advise
museum visitors.
He is the great-great-great-grandson of Humpa, the chief of the tribe,
participant in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Memorial workers talk about it with great pride
creation as your favorite brainchild.

There are classrooms here where anyone can be taught
ancient Indian crafts, research library,
containing reference literature about the indigenous people of America,
restaurant and kiosks selling souvenirs and brochures.

In the museum you can see very original and unusual products,
made by Indians - national clothes, various decorations
from silver and semi-precious stones, paintings, sculptures,
ceramic products.

The tradition of making ceramics among the Indians of both Northern and
and Central and South America arose long before contact
with Europeans, and local ceramic styles were very diverse.

Moreover, not a single pre-Columbian culture had a potter's wheel.
(which can be associated with the Indians’ lack of wheels).

For this reason, all species known to archaeologists and ethnographers
Native American pottery hand sculpted using a series of
traditional technologies: sculptural modeling, modeling
according to the shape or frame, modeling from clay cord, molding
spatula.

In addition to ceramic vessels, various Indian cultures
they also made clay figurines, masks, and other ritual
items.

Sculptural works by Korczak Tsiolkovsky are also presented here.
creator of the Crazy Horse monument.

And in the place of honor is his large portrait.

A very beautiful museum, well-kept memorial area, above which
towers a mountain with a sculpture of Crazy Horse.

The Crazy Horse Memorial Center was created for the noble purpose of preserving
cultural and historical
Native American values ​​- Indians
North America.

It is a training and educational center for everyone
get to know better the life and historical values ​​of the North American Indians.

The museum is open to visitors daily, all funds raised
are sent to continue the creation of the monument.

Children of the Lakota (Sioux) Indians.

Unfortunately, we got to the museum shortly before closing.

There was not much time left to examine the exhibition, and there
there were so many interesting things!
But I still managed to do it
these photos, see several dance numbers in the open air
site near the museum and even took part in the final friendship dance.

I danced and filmed at the same time, which of course had an impact
on the quality of shooting.
Let's dance the dance of friendship.

Some interesting facts about the Lakota (Sioux) Indians.

The population in the USA is 113.7 thousand people according to
last census.

They speak the Sioux (Lakota) language; English predominates among young people
language.

Over 70% of Dakota in the USA are Christians (Catholics, Anglicans, etc.),
however, they also retain traditional beliefs.

The homeland of the Lakota is the lands west of Lake Michigan (Minnesota
and Wisconsin).

They were engaged in driven hunting for bison, divided into eastern
and Western Lakota.
In the 18th century, under pressure from the armed forces
firearms of the Ojibwe and Cree Indian tribes, as well as
attracted by hunting grounds and trading posts on rivers
Des Moines, Mississippi and Missouri gradually moved west.

By the middle of the 19th century, they occupied territories in western Minnesota,
northern Iowa, North and South Dakota, eastern Montana and Wyoming,
northeast Nebraska.

Having borrowed a horse from their neighbors, they switched to horse hunting
for bison.

Central and Western Lakotas according to traditional culture are
typical representatives of the nomadic culture of the Great Plains Indians.

They combined elements of nomadism with agriculture, gathering
and fishing.

The community that made up their camp included families of relatives, adopted
and cousins ​​(each family lived in a tipi), was managed
leader (itanchan) and council (tipi iyokihe).
Several communities
united into tribal divisions and tribes.

To ensure order in the camp and especially during
hunting, “policemen” (akichita) were appointed, during migration movements
led by elected leaders (wakihonza), who also served as judges
in internal disputes.

Traditional religion is based on the belief in impersonal power
(wakan-tanka) and its manifestations (wakan): taku shkanshkan (“that which moves”,
"energy"), sun, moon, wind, hurricane, Four winds, Thunder creatures
(Wakinyan), stone, earth, White Buffalo Maiden, bison, bipeds,
many invisible spirits.
A person could turn to wakan-tanka
with a plea for help (vachekiye - “request for help in a relative way”),
the connecting object was considered to be a smoking pipe (chanunpa).

There were shamans: vicasha-wakan and pezhuta-vicasha (healer).

The main ritual of the Western and Central Lakota is the summer Sun Dance.

Treaty relations with the United States began to be concluded at the beginning of the 19th century.

Seizure of lands by whites, violation of previous treaties, extermination
buffalo caused armed resistance by the Lakota (the so-called Little Crow War
1862-63, Red Cloud's War 1866-67, Black Hills War 1876-77).

In the late 1870s, after the signing of treaties, the Lakota were finally
moved to reservations.

Indians in our time.

As a result of the massive struggle for civil rights in the United States
a number of injustices against the Indians were eliminated.

In 1968, the important Indian Civil Rights Act was passed.
(Indian Civil Rights Act).
In 1972 - Education Law
Indians (Indian Education Act).
In 1975, the Law on
Indian Self-Determination
and Education Act), which created the current system
relationships.

The Indians received the right of self-government, as well as direct control
over your finances, education system, etc.

As a result, the standard of living and education of indigenous
America's inhabitants have grown significantly.
Some tribal leaders
demonstrated remarkable management abilities.

Numerous Indian writers, artists, philosophers appeared,
actors.

However, the wealth gap still persists
between Indians and representatives of other racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

In addition, in recent years the tribes have divided into "rich"
and “poor”, which in some places provokes tension.

More than half of the Lakota live in cities throughout the territory
USA, not on reservations.

Actively participate in political speeches.

There are several types of subsidies for residents of reservations.

This is food assistance, increased child benefits,
state financial guarantees for the purchase of housing,
various advanced training courses.

Native Americans can receive higher education
taking advantage of special benefits: they do not pay tuition fees and enroll
to a college or university under a special quota.

Despite the fact that the Indians enjoy significant
benefits for admission to higher education institutions
and education is free for them, the level of education among
Indians remains low.

72% of Indians completed high school - US average
this figure is 80%.

11% have a bachelor's degree (awarded after graduation)
Indians, however, among the Indians there are also doctors of science.

It is not surprising that the share of Indians occupying
managerial positions, is noticeably inferior to the indicators of other
racial groups living in the United States.

Modern Lakotas on reservations are engaged in agriculture,
have income from the gambling business and rent out land.

In the modern United States, Indians have two main
source of income - government subsidies and gambling.

Indian reservations received the right to create
casino in 1998, when the corresponding federal
law (called Indian Gaming Regulatory Act).

The reason for this was the verdict of the US Supreme Court
Court) 1997.
The court ruled that since the Indians were
forced into infertile places that have no mineral resources,
and cannot engage in traditional crafts that allow
they get the means to live, they have the right to engage
gambling business.

This was the most important victory for the Indians because
In most US states, such establishments are prohibited by law.

Therefore, Indian casinos have become islands of excitement, attracting
a large number of visitors.

According to the National Indian Gaming Association
(National Indian Gaming Association), in 2005 (latest
data) gambling establishments operated on 227 (out of 563) reservations.

In 2006, Indians earned $25.7 billion from gambling enthusiasts.
(in 2005 - $22.6 billion) - according to the degree of profitability, Indian
Only Las Vegas gambling houses are ahead of casinos.

The gambling business has created more than 670 thousand workers
places for Indians.
A 2005 study found that
reservation authorities (aka tribal leaders) 20% of casino revenues
are directed to support educational programs, 19% - to
economic development, 17% each - for financing rights
security agencies and healthcare.

The USA is a country of religious freedom.

However, only in relation to Indians a special law was adopted,
which allows them to freely practice their religious
cult (some Indians and religious scholars consider it correct,
call it "spiritual practice").

The fact is that most rituals require
eagle feathers, but eagles are protected by law in the US, and hunting
them is prohibited.

An exception has been made for Indians: only tribal members can
buy eagle feathers.

However, they are prohibited from selling or transferring them to non-Indians.

When preparing the material, information from Deloria’s books was used,
Vine and Clifford Lytle (Deloria, Vine and Clifford Lytle)"American
Indians, American Justice"
and Stephen Pevar, "The Rights of Indians and Tribes."

A Sioux Indian named Amos Two Bulls in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Photo of Gertrude Casebeer. 1900 Library of Congress

1. Buffalo People

The Sioux are a group of Native American tribes living in the northern United States. The tribes included in this group are united by a more or less common language and some cultural unity. Most of the Sioux hunted American bison in the past, and it was around this animal that their spiritual, economic and social life was largely built, which is why the Sioux were formerly known as the “buffalo people.” Many tribes from this group lived in the traditional dwellings of nomadic Indians - teepees, which allowed them to move from place to place throughout the year, following herds of bison.

In the 17th century, French traders heard the name given to these tribes by their neighbors (and enemies), the Ojibwe Indians. They called the Sioux nadewesioux - “little snakes” (thus contrasting them with the “big snakes”, the Iroquois). In French the name was shortened to "Sioux". The Sioux themselves never called themselves that, but used a word that, depending on the dialect of their language, sounds like “Lakota”, “Dakota” or “Nakota” - “friends” or “allies”. This is where the names of the three largest subgroups of the Sioux tribes came from: the Lakota - those who live in the west, the Dakota - in the east, and the Nakota - in the center.

2. Indians from Westerns

The arrival of the colonialists initially not only did not harm the Sioux, but also benefited them: the Spaniards did not claim their territory, but they brought horses to America, which the Sioux began to use for hunting and transitions between sites. But in the second half of the 19th century, immigrants from Europe reached the northern steppes and first destroyed the bison population, and then began to build a railroad through the territories occupied by the Sioux. In the late 1860s, when the Civil War ended and the US population began to grow rapidly, the Americans began to conquer the steppes - the so-called Sioux Wars began.

By this time, newspapers and magazines already existed in America, and photographers were working hard. Therefore, the Americans were well informed about how the Sioux lived. As a result, it was the Sioux who became the stereotypical North American Indians: the Indians we see in Westerns are based on them.

Most often in historical writings we talk about the Lakota, a western group of Sioux tribes. The Lakota were very powerful, they controlled the territory that is now the states of North and South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. Among the leaders of the Lakota tribes were the famous American Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

3. The Great Sioux Reservation and the Black Hills Gold Rush

The Sioux lost the war, becoming the last wild Indians to be conquered by the United States. In 1851 and 1866, the Sioux signed two treaties with the government at Fort Laramie, according to which they gave the government extensive territories, resources and rights in exchange for recognition of some lands, including the Black Hills mountain range, which the Sioux had special, sacred meaning. In 1868, the Great Sioux Reservation was created. In 1873-1874, gold was discovered in the Black Hills, after which the American army ousted the Indians from the territories guaranteed to them. The Indians were transported to various reservations created on the territory of the original Great Sioux Reservation.

Today the Sioux have about two dozen reservations, the largest of which are in South Dakota. In terms of the set of rights, a reservation is not much different from a state: each reservation has its own laws, its own license plates on cars, its own government, education and health care systems, but they are controlled by the federal authorities - the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Today, the Sioux have generally become accustomed to the idea of ​​reservations, but continue to struggle to expand their rights: they want to decide for themselves what and how to spend money, what kind of educational system they will have, and other issues of this kind.

4. The most famous Sioux

Russell Means was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation. As a teenager, he used drugs and drank a lot. He was suspected of murder; he was cut with a knife once and they tried to shoot him several times. In 1968, Means joined the American Indian Movement, after which he participated in the capture of the Mayflower II (1970), the Rock of Presidents on Mount Rushmore (1971), the Bureau of Indian Affairs building in Washington (1972) and Wounded Knee, one of the reservation villages. Pine Ridge, where activists declared traditional tribal rule (1973, military confrontation with American authorities lasted 71 days). In 1987, he tried to run for president of the United States from the Libertarian Party.

Russell Means in 1992 Rex Features / Fotodom

In 1992, Means played Chief Chingachgook in the American film adaptation of the novel The Last of the Mohicans, after which he starred in several more films, including the role of an old shaman in Natural Born Killers, and voiced one of the characters in the cartoon Pocahontas.

Already a well-known actor, in 2002 Means again tried to take part in the political life of the country, running for governor of New Mexico, but was again defeated. Then he tried to create a separate state on US territory. In 2012, at the age of 72, having failed to achieve not only his demands, but also any attention to his venture, Russell Means died of cancer.

5. Independent state

On December 17, 2007, Russell Means and several of his supporters announced the creation of an independent Lakota tribal state. Means stated that he considered all the treaties concluded by the tribes with the US government to be invalid, since the authorities themselves violated them by driving the Indians out of the Black Hills. He demanded that the disputed territories (parts of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana) be transferred to the new state - and appealed to the embassies of several countries with a request to recognize the new state entity.

Not a single government responded to Means' calls. Some Indian leaders have officially distanced themselves from the idea of ​​a republic, emphasizing that they intend to honor the treaties that their ancestors entered into with the United States in the mid-19th century.

“How my uncle came up with the idea of ​​the Lakota Republic, I don’t know for sure. He and I talked about how it would be great to create a whole separate state for the Indians, but that was long before he got down to business. In December 2007, he announced that the Lakota were seceding from America, let everyone surrender their American passports: citizens of the new republic would have new passports and new driver's licenses, and they would not have to pay taxes to the federal treasury. But there was, of course, no real concept of what kind of state it would be, what kind of structure, management, and everything else it would have. There were no attributes of a sovereign state: no flag, no anthem, no constitution. There was no understanding of how the president would be elected. My uncle said: “Anyone can come to me for citizenship, become a Lakotin and move to the Lakota Republic.” By republic he then meant 23 acres of his plot. Therefore, everyone took it as a joke - not only the Americans, but even the residents of our reservation. Like, Means and the guys joked and drove on. After Russell's statement, nothing more happened. Volunteers launched a website, but that also died down a year later.

Perhaps if one of the people who officially headed the Lakota self-government bodies had supported Russell, things might have turned out differently. But they treated this project like Putin treated Chechnya. And it's a shame, because something worthwhile could have come out of the Lakota Republic. The Lakota people just don't believe in change. We have been tormented by the federal government for so long that no one believes anything will ever change for the better. The last time we had an election in the tribe, only twenty percent showed up to vote.”

Payu Harris, nephew of Russell Means

6. Who was interested in the Lakota Republic

In the United States, the creation of the republic went virtually unnoticed; not a single federal publication wrote about it. The Russian media reacted differently to Means’ initiative: in Novye Izvestia the article “Lakota Indians declared independence in the USA” was published, in Nezavisimaya Gazeta - “Kosovo syndrome struck the Indians of the USA and Bolivia”, in Komsomolskaya Pravda - “Indians announced leaving the United States and threatening to secede several states from the country.”

In 2011, that is, four years after the announcement of the creation of the republic, Margarita Simonyan came to her senses. She held a teleconference with Means, which began with the words: “Chingachgook wants independence. And why are the Indians worse than Kosovo, we decided to ask Chingachgook himself.”

NTV has not abandoned the topic to this day: the channel made its last report from the “Lakota Republic” in 2014, with the introduction “US Indians were inspired by the example of Crimea and set a course for independence.”

Most of the representatives of the Lakota tribes with whom it was possible
contact the Arzamas correspondent, they couldn’t remember what it was
for the republic.

For assistance in the work on the material, Arzamas thanks Colin Calloway, professor in the Native American Studies program at Dartmouth College; Wade Davis, professor in the Department of Native American Studies at the University of Montana; Russell Thornton, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles; Philip Deloria, Professor in the Department of History and American Culture at the University of Michigan, and Frances Washburn, Lecturer at the University of Arizona.