Crazy Horse (Sioux: Tasunka witko, pronounced tashúnka uitko), (December 4, 1849 - September 5, 1877) was a respected member of the Oglala Sioux Native American tribe and is noted for his courage in battle. Crazy Horse was recognized among his own people as a visionary leader committed to preserving the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life and leading his people into a war against the take-over of their lands by the 'White Man'.

Crazy Horse was a 6 year old boy and witness of the Grattan Massacre when he had vision of himself becoming a warrior.

Maybe the most well-known fight was Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 26, 1876, in which Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull and led his band in the counterattack that destroyed Custer's Seventh Cavalry to the last man, flanking the Americans from the north and west as Hunkpapa Warriors led by chief Gall charged from the south and east.

On January 8, 1877, his warriors fought their last battle with the United States Cavalry in Montana and on May 8 of that year he realized that his people were weakened by cold and hunger and he surrendered to United States troops in Nebraska.

Crazy Horse was assassinated (with a bayonet) by a United States soldier on September 5, 1877 after he resisted confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson in Nebraska.

He also resisted being photographed, since he had strong beliefs in preserving the culture and ways of the traditional Native Americans.

Crazy Horse is currently being commemorated with the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota, a monument carved into a mountain, in the tradition of Mount Rushmore.

See Link below "A sympathetic but detailed account of his life and death" for a discussion of the validity of the photo on this page.

Further reading

• Crazy Horse and Custer: The epic clash of two great warriors at the Little Bighorn. Stephen E. Ambrose. 1975

• "Debating Crazy Horse: Is this the Famous Oglala". Whispering Wind magazine, Vol 34 # 3, 2004. A discussion on the improbability of the Garryowen photo being that of Crazy Horse (the same photo shown here). The clothing, the studio setting all date the photo 1890-1910.

• Crazy Horse (Penguin Lives). Larry McMurtry. Puffin Books. 1999. ISBN: 0670882348

External links

• The Crazy Horse Memorial newsgroup and archives for disussion and updates on progress at the mountain carving.
• A more detailed profile of him
• A sympathetic but detailed account of his life and death
• A timeline of his life
• The Story of the Crazy Horse Memorial, South Dakota