Tecumseh was born in 1768 in Old Piqua, Ohio (modern Clark County). As a boy during the
American Revolution, Tecumseh participated in combined British and Indian attacks on
American colonists. He earned a reputation for temperance, generosity and humanity,
which he showed by protecting prisoners of war, and was a warm companion. He
eventually established a confederation made up of members of the Creek and other tribes
to unite against the Americans. As the War of 1812 approached, Tecumseh assembled his
followers under the British banner and captured Detroit. During the War of 1812 Tecumseh
proved himself a versatile military leader, commanding the traditional strengths of
American Indian warfare, along with other things. At the battle of the Thames, the BritishIndian army had been reduced to about 1,000 troops and was heavily outnumbered by the
American army. The British quickly gave way in the fight, but the American Indians resisted
bravely until Tecumseh was killed. His death at the Thames River in what is now Ontario
marked the end of Indian resistance in the Old Northwest.
Chief Joseph was born in 1840 in Wallowa Valley, Oregon Territory in what is now Oregon and Washington.
He was widely known as Young Joseph or Joseph the Younger during his youth because his father had taken
the Christian name Joseph when he was baptized. His father, Joseph or Joseph the Elder, was one of the
first Nez Percé to convert to Christianity and he was a supporter of the tribe’s longstanding peace with
whites. In later years he was given the name Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, or Thunder Rolling Down the
Mountain. When his father died in 1871, Joseph was elected to succeed him. He inherited not only a name
but a situation made increasingly volatile as white settlers continued to arrive in the Wallowa Valley and in
1877, the Federal Government threatened a cavalry attack to force Joseph’s band onto a reservation.
Joseph, not wanting to fight decided to go to the reservation. But about twenty young Nez Percé warriors
staged a raid on nearby settlements and killed several whites. Immediately, the army began to pursue
Joseph's band. Although he had opposed war, Joseph joined with the war leaders. What followed was one
of the most brilliant military retreats in American history. Even the unsympathetic General William
Tecumseh Sherman could not help but be impressed with the 1,400 mile march, stating that "The Indians
displayed a courage and skill that elicited universal praise... [they] fought with almost scientific skill, using
advance and rear guards, skirmish lines, and field fortifications." In over three months, the band of about
700, fewer than 200 of whom were warriors, fought 2,000 U.S. soldiers and Indian auxiliaries in four major
battles and numerous skirmishes. By the time he formally surrendered on October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph
was widely referred to in the American press as "the Red Napoleon." One of his statements he made after
the incident was "From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever." A voice of conscience for the
West, he died on the 21 of September in 1904, still in exile from his homeland, according to his doctor "of a
Chief Geronimo was born on June 16, 1829 near Gila River, Mexico which is the nowadays New Mexico.
He was given the name Goyathlay (One who yawns) at birth. He was reportedly given the name
Geronimo by Mexican soldiers0. As leader of the Apaches, he performed such daring feats that the
Mexicans singled him out with the sobriquet Geronimo (Spanish for "Jerome"). Some attributed his
numerous raiding successes to powers conferred by supernatural beings, including a reputed
invulnerability to bullets, seeing into the future, being able to walk without creating footprints, and
being able to stop the dawn so he could continue fighting. Geronimo's final surrender in 1886 was the
last significant Indian guerrilla action in the United States. At the end, his group consisted of only 16
warriors, 12 women, and 6 children. Upon their surrender, Geronimo and over 300 of his fellow
Chiricahuas were shipped to Fort Marion, Florida. One year later many of them were relocated to the
Mt. Vernon barracks in Alabama, where about one quarter died from tuberculosis and other diseases.
Geronimo died on Feb. 17, 1909, a prisoner of war, unable to return to his homeland. He was buried in
the Apache cemetery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
No one really knows exactly when or where Tantanka Yotanka was born, but it is thought that he was born
somewhere near Grand River in South Dakota. As a child he was named Slon-He (Slow) but was renamed
Tȟatȟaŋka Iyotȟaŋka (Sitting Bull) after leading a strong war party against the enemy Crow tribe. He is
most remembered for his major victory in the Battle of Little Big Horn where he defeated General Cluster
and his regiment in 1876. After the battle, Sitting Bull and his followers were chased and they travelled to
Canada where they knew they would be safe from America. He returned later that year and surrendered to
the U.S Army. He went to live in Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota. While he was there, he
briefly toured in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. After his tours ended, he returned to the Reservation
where he was living when Indian Service agent James McLaughlin ordered his arrest because Sitting Bull
was feared to use his influencing skills to support the Ghost Dance movement. As soldiers were dragging
him out of his home, they were stopped by a group of his followers. The followers tried to get back their
chief and during the struggle, one of Sitting Bull's followers shot a solider and then another solider put a
bullet in Sitting Bulls head during return fire. He was buried in Fort Yates, but in 1953 hi Lakota family
claims to have taken his remains to South Dakota so that he could be closer to his birth place. But some
Sioux and historians say that any remains that were moved were not those of Sitting Bulls.
Crazy Horse was born near Rapid Creek near present day Rapid City in South Dakota in 1842. His childhood
name was Curly and before he had turned twelve, he had killed a buffalo and received his own horse. Crazy
Horse fought in the 1865-68 war led by the Oglala chief Red Cloud against American settlers in Wyoming,
and played a key role in destroying William J. Fetterman's attack at Fort Phil Kearny in 1867. As an adult and
leader, Crazy Horse earned his reputation among the Sioux not only by his skill but also by his fierce
determination to preserve his people's traditional way of life. Crazy Horse then united with Chief Sitting
Bull for the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where he helped annihilate General George Custer's troops. On the
morning of September 5, 1877, Crazy Horse and Lieutenant Lee departed for Camp Robinson. Arriving that
evening outside the adjutant’s office, Lieutenant Lee was told that he was to turn Crazy Horse over to the
Officer of the Day. Lee protested and hurried to Bradley's quarters to debate the issue, but without success.
Lee turned the Oglala war chief over to Captain James Kennington, in charge of the post guard, who
accompanied Crazy Horse to the post guardhouse. Once inside, realizing what was going to happen to him,
Crazy Horse struggled with the guard and Little Big Man and attempted to escape. Just outside the door of
the guardhouse, Crazy Horse was stabbed with a bayonet of one of the guard. He was taken to the
adjutant's office where he was tended by the assistant post surgeon, Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy, and died
late that night.
My Opinions On Focus Questions
QUESTION: Who were the most powerful and most well-known of the Native American Leaders?
OPINION: After all I’ve found out, I really don’t think that there was a top dog in the Native American world because
They were in different times and different places and did different things so there is almost no way to compare…they were
all very well-known and powerful in their own ways.
QUESTION: Do you think that the events that happened were all planned out, or were some of them random
bursts of action?
OPINION: Most, if not all of the events that I took note about were most likely planned out because of the skill and
planning needed to do some of the battle techniques that all involving were achieved. Like some of the techniques that
were used in The Battle of The Little Bighorn.
QUESTION: What are some of the biggest and/or most daring achievements ever carried out by these
leaders?
OPINION: I think that The Battle of The Little Bighorn along with the daring retreat attempt by Chief Joseph. I say these two
because they both have brilliant military strategy, and you can really tell because in both instances they seemed outmatched but
they put up more then a good fight and actually won in The Battle of The Little Bighorn.
QUESTION: Did all of these events have to do with expansion and were all the battles and conflicts over land?
And were they involving America?
OPINION: Some of the smaller battles that aren’t really described in my notes were against enemy tribes, but most if not all of the
really big Native American battles in history were because someone, mostly the United States, wanted to take their land.
QUESTION: Were some and/or most of the tribes enemies? Why?
OPINION: Well this question is really just an opinion because I really don’t know if all of the tribes hated someone or if some of the
tribes hated everyone, or if one of the tribes hated no one, it’s really just a battle for land and resources in the end.
QUESTION: Did the Americans attacking and expanding bring all the tribes, even the enemy ones, closer to fight against a common
enemy?
OPINION: As far as I can see, yes. This is because they all had one goal, and that was to get back their homeland/spiritual land.