White Bull (Sioux: Pte-san-hunka) (April 1849 – June 21, 1947) was the nephew of Sitting Bull, and a famous warrior in his own right. White Bull participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. For years it was said White Bull boasted of killing Lt. George Armstrong Custer at the infamous battle. Other sources say White Bull himself never made that claim but admitted to struggling with Custer. Born in the Black Hills in South Dakota, White Bull came from a prominent Sioux family. He was the son of Makes Room, a Miniconjou chief and the brother of One Bull. White Bull's uncle was the famous Hunkpapa Sioux leader Sitting Bull, whom he joined in fleeing to Canada after the Little Bighorn battle. White Bull surrendered to government troops in 1876. He eventually became a chief, replacing his father upon his death. He acted as a judge of the Court of Indian Offenses, and was a proponent of Lakota land claims in the Black Hills. White Bull died in South Dakota in 1947. White Bull's relationship to his uncle made him an important contributor to Stanley Vestal's biography of Sitting Bull. His grandson was Chief Dave Bald Eagle who served-ironically enough-with the U.S. 4th Cavalry and later in the 82nd Airborne.
References
- Stanley Vestal, Warpath: The True Story of the Fighting Sioux Told in a Biography of Chief White Bull (University of Nebraska Press, First Bison Book printing, 1984) ISBN 0-8032-9601-0
- The Warrior Who Killed Custer: The Personal Narrative of Chief Joseph White Bull. Translated and Edited By James H. Howard. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1968.
- Lakota Warrior: A Personal Narrative. Edited by James H. Howard. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998.
External links
- Sioux History in Pictures (The White Bull Manuscript) at The University of North Dakota
- The Man Who Killed Custer American Heritage Magazine
