Sitting Bull (1837-90) was a Sioux Indian leader, born on Grand River, South Dakota. He was named Tatanka Yotanka (Ind.. "Sitting Bull") after scalping an enemy at the age of fourteen. During and after the Civil War he led the warlike members of his tribe in attacks on white settlements in the north-central Great Plains region. A U.S. force, commanded by General George A. Custer, was annihilated (June 25, 1876) by his warriors in the Battle of Little Big Horn. Sitting Bull then fled to Canada. Receiving a promise of amnesty in 1881, he returned to U.S. territory. He continued to be hostile toward the Whites and persuaded the Sioux not to sell their lands. The tense situation among the Sioux was aggravated by the Messiah craze, which promissed defeat of the white man. Considered the leading instigator of the impending rebellion. Sitting Bull was arrested on Dec. 15, 1890. He was shot and killed by his captors when his friends tried to rescue him.
