It was 1877, one year after the Sioux and Cheyenne defeated General George Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and Crazy Horse had agreed to surrender at Fort Robinson. Talking Elk, a prominent war chief, was with him, but turned back before getting there. He knew he couldn't live as the U.S. Government demanded, his power was that he was not to give in to the ways of the white man but to live as his people had always lived, keeping their spirit alive. The military couldn't stand for this, all Sioux had been ...
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It was 1877, one year after the Sioux and Cheyenne defeated General George Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and Crazy Horse had agreed to surrender at Fort Robinson. Talking Elk, a prominent war chief, was with him, but turned back before getting there. He knew he couldn't live as the U.S. Government demanded, his power was that he was not to give in to the ways of the white man but to live as his people had always lived, keeping their spirit alive. The military couldn't stand for this, all Sioux had been commanded to surrender to the reservation or be branded "hostile" to be hunted down and captured or killed. Talking Elk knew this, but he would live as he chose and fight the soldiers if necessary. In time, others joined him. Together, they strove to drive all the gold miners out of the Black Hills, land that was sacred to them and promised in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 to belong to the Siouix for as long as the grass grew and the streams flowed. It didn't matter to the government that the Black Hills belonged to the Sioux, there was gold there and if Talking Elk and his band of warriors were allowed to remain free others would follow. They were to be hunted down and captured or killed, regardless of how many soldiers it took.
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