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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
Some forty-four Miniconjous had chosen not to follow Touch the Clouds and were absorbed by the band of Young Man Afraid of his Horse, effectively becoming Oglalas. The Oglala leadership no longer indulged Northern independence, as was vividly demonstrated on January 28 when two Miniconjous, Across the Lodge and Elk Creek, appeared at the White River forks. Disheartened, they had deserted the Little Hawk breakouts at Slim Buttes. Oglala akicita turned out to "soldier" the pair. Scout Company A sergeant Spider declared that "It was no good to take there [sic] Horses so he shot one and then the Ball opened and shooting went on In full bloom till all the Horses was KiId the total number was 4 and then," concluded Ben Tibbitts, "Pease Rains once more."70
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On the evening of the twenty-third, just hours after Touch the Clouds's departure, the Oglala tribal council convened to make a final decision on relocation. The agenda reflected agreements hammered out during Irwin's visit, and Ben Tibbitts, attending as the agent's representative, was impressed by the eagerness of the council to close a long-running and contentious chapter in Oglala political history. In the council tipi "every thing, went off Lovely," reported Tibbitts, "all went one way for once." Irwin had assured the Oglalas that a Tongue River location would be entirely unacceptable to the government. Both Red Cloud and Young Man Afraid of His Horse dropped their support for Tongue River and made persuasive speeches backing Little Wound's proposal for a location on White River, within the existing reservation. "Old Red [Cloud] Don well better than I thought He would," Tibbitts summed up.71
Council akicita then issued voting wands "prepared for the purpose" to all adult males with a war record. A unanimous vote was cast in favor of a site on White clay Creek, the westernmost tributary of White River within the reservation. A party led by Red Cloud was deputed to travel to White clay and drive a stake to mark the spot, at the confluence of Wolf Creek, site of modern-day Pine Ridge village. Two months later, on March 21, the Brulés held a similar council, declaring Rosebud Creek, a tributary of the south fork of the White River, as their favored site. Both tribal councils stuck firmly to their decisions and, despite government stalling on the promise of President Hayes, secured the desired locations. Before the onset of winter 1878-1879, the Oglalas and Brulés were settled at their permanent homes, locations that, in 2005, still mark the administrative centers of the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations.72
The historian must ask: after the massive surrenders of 1877, what were the causes of the breakouts? Previous writers have tended to stress the irrational nature of the groups "making a wild break for . . . freedom." Some stress the romantic dimension of the flight, as the fugitives carried "the spirit of Crazy Horse" to Canada.73
Yet the motivations of the Northern Indians were not irrational by Lakota standards or ours. Given the existence of the Canadian buffalo range, opting for flight was a logical outcome of their unhappy experience on the Great Sioux Reservation. Certain factors played real but minor parts in causing the breakouts: an inability to adjust to reservation life; bitterness at the killing of Crazy Horse; and an atmosphere of chronic suspicion, reflected in a relentless flow of rumors about arrests, disarmings, and pony confiscations.
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