SITTING BULL CHAPTER ONE 4 MORE THAN A LEGEND In late June 1876 soldiers of the U S Cavalry a group of troops on horse back fought a major battle against a group of Native American warriors from several different TRIBES One of the leaders of the Native Americans was a powerful man known as Sitting Bull Sitting Bull was an important Native American leader He fought for his people all his life
5 The relationship between the Native Americans and the U S gov ernment had been tense for many years Settlers moving to the West had come into conflict with Native Americans who lived there The U S government wanted to protect the settlers Troops tried to force the Native Americans to move to reservations Sitting Bull and others fought back most notably at the Battle of the Little Bighorn This 1857 illustration shows a group of Native Americans attacking white settlers who were moving west TRIBES are social groups made up of many families clans or generations that share the same language customs and beliefs Vocabulary Box MORE THAN A LEGEND
6 SITTING BULL The Battle of the Little Bighorn was a major victory for the Native American tribes The Battle of the Little Bighorn In June 1876 U S soldiers were looking for a large group of Native Americans led by Sitting Bull Hundreds of soldiers approached the valley where they heard the group may have camped However they
7 MORE THAN A LEGEND were spotted Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer the leader of the U S soldiers ordered his troops to attack To their surprise more than a thou sand Native American warriors were waiting for them Sitting Bull’s warriors used their hunting skills in battle In the end the Native American tribes won Sitting Bull would forever be remembered for defeating Custer and his troops But who was Custer and why was he fighting the tribes Where were the reservations that the U S government set up for the Native Americans Who was Sitting Bull The answers to these questions reveal an important part of the history of the United States The Battle of the Little Bighorn is named after the Little Bighorn River near where the battle was fought It is also called Custer’s Last Stand after the leader of the U S troops Quick Fact
