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'WE BELONG TO THE NORTH': THE FLIGHTS OF THE NORTHERN INDIANS FROM THE WHITE RIVER AGENCIES, 1877-1878
Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Summer 2005 by Bray, Kingsley M
Indicating the realignment of factions, Little Big Man, following the expiry of his status as a Northern Decider, was appointed by the Oglala tribal council to serve as the rationing system coordinator. His responsibilities included transporting goods from Yellow Medicine and working closely with butcher Ben Tibbitts to ensure a smooth distribution of beef throughout the winter. No Water, an akicita leader, joined Little Big Man with about twenty lodges of moderate Northern Oglalas, people willing to integrate themselves into the new life of the reservation. Such assimilation came at a price. Both Little Big Man and No Water had played key roles in the arrest of Crazy Horse, the former receiving promotion to first sergeant of scout Company C. By January both men feared for their safety from Crazy Horse's relatives.50
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Little Big Man's following accounted for almost one-third of the remaining Northern contingent of Oglalas. Chiefly drawn from the Bad Face band, whose ranking chief was Red Cloud himself, their loyalties indicated tightening tensions over the issues of integration versus autonomy. Another Bad Face tiyospaye was led by He Dog. As Red Cloud's nephew, He Dog had amalgamated his people into his uncle's parent band during the Crazy Horse crisis. His scout loyalties to lieutenant Clark, General Crook, and the peace process all remained strong, but residual allegiance to the war chief's memory alienated him from the Little Big Man faction.51
The Oyuhpe band was also divided between Northern and agency factions. Half the band had joined the "stampede" to Spotted Tail after the death of Crazy Horse, with Low Dog and Black Fox leading part of that faction in the November 17 breakout. The Oyuhpes remaining at Red Cloud were divided between the Northern tiyospaye of Big Road, a scout sergeant favored by the military as a "moderate, prudent man," and the agency chief Red Dog, whose following constituted part of Red Cloud's wintering camp.52 Although considered the greatest living Oglala orator, Red Dog was treated by Lieutenant Clark as an aging nonentity. Red Dog bitterly resented the chief of scouts and his Lakota favorites. By midwinter these intraband tensions were exacerbated as Big Road's own young men reacted suspiciously to their leader's preferment. They began to feast and consult in private, with divisive agendas. Warriors like Skunk Horse agreed "that they did not wish to eat beef any more, but would prefer to go North, live in a big country, hunt buffalo and be free to do as we pleased. Nothing was said to ... [Big Road] for fear he would not let us go."53
The last of the Northern Oglala tiyospaye was the Hunkpatila, Crazy Horse's own band. The Hunkpatila was an offshoot of Young Man Afraid of His Horse's agency band, and the chief had sincerely attempted to integrate his Northern kinsmen into the smooth running of reservation life. Since the death of Crazy Horse, Hunkpatila leadership devolved to his father's half-brother Little Hawk, a scout sergeant whose loyalties to his nephew's memory deeply conflicted with those to Lieutenant Clark. The festering resentment against Little Big Man focused within the Hunkpatilas. Akicita leader Standing Bull moved toward advocating flight to Canada.54
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