Sitting Bull, a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux chief born around 1831, played a pivotal role in resisting the westward expansion of European-American settlers in the late 19th century. He led the Sioux in the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn, a significant victory against General Custer’s 7th Cavalry. Facing increasing pressure, Sitting Bull surrendered in 1881, later performing in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. His legacy symbolizes Native American resistance and cultural preservation. Tragically, he was killed on December 15, 1890, during a conflict with Indian agency police, leaving an enduring mark on the history of indigenous struggle in the face of colonization.
Sitting Bull Quotes
1. “I was very sorry when I found out that your intentions were good and not what I supposed they were.”
— Sitting Bull
2. “What treaty that the whites have kept has the red man broken? Not one.”
— Sitting Bull
3. “Only seven years ago, we made a treaty by which we were assured that the buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take that from us also.”
— Sitting Bull
4. “Now that we are poor, we are free. No white man controls our footsteps.”
— Sitting Bull
5. “What white man can say I never stole his land or a penny of his money? Yet they say that I am a thief.”
— Sitting Bull
6. “If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for it, he will find it.”
— Sitting Bull
7. “The white men, who belong to another land, have come upon us and are forcing is to live according to their ideas. That is an injustice. We have never dreamed of making white men live as we live.”
— Sitting Bull
8. “A warrior I have been. Now it is all over. A hard time I have.”
— Sitting Bull
9. “They want us to give up another chunk of our tribal land. This is not the first time or the last time.”
— Sitting Bull
10. “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.”
— Sitting Bull
11. “In my early days, I was eager to learn and to do things, and therefore I learned quickly.”
— Sitting Bull
12. “It does not take many words to tell the truth.”
— Sitting Bull
13. “My people want to move their tepees here and there to different hunting grounds.”
— Sitting Bull
14. “If we must die, we die defending our rights.”
— Sitting Bull
15. “The land under my feet is mine again. I never sold it. I never gave it to anyone.”
— Sitting Bull
16. “I was born near where I stand.”
— Sitting Bull
17. “Hear me people: We have now to deal with another race – small and feeble when our fathers first met them, but now great and overbearing.”
— Sitting Bull
18. “As individual fingers, we can easily be broken, but all together we make a mighty fist.”
— Sitting Bull
19. “What treaty have the Sioux made with the white man that we have broken? Not one. What treaty have the white man ever made with us that they have kept? Not one.”
— Sitting Bull
20. “If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for it, he will find it.”
— Sitting Bull
