Sitting Bull had a vision before the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876 in which he saw soldiers falling from the sky like grasshoppers. Days later, General Custer and 268 US soldiers were annihilated.
The Story of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake)
Born around 1831, Sitting Bull was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux who became both a spiritual leader and war chief. He resisted US expansion onto Lakota lands from an early age, participating in raids and battles as a young man. By the 1860s and 1870s, he was the most respected leader across the Sioux Nation.
When the US government attempted to force the Lakota off their sacred Black Hills territory after gold was discovered there — violating the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 — Sitting Bull led the resistance. He organized a massive gathering of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors at the Little Bighorn River in Montana in June 1876.
Before the battle, Sitting Bull conducted a Sun Dance ceremony and received a vision: soldiers falling from the sky like grasshoppers into the Lakota camp. Days later, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led 268 men in an attack on what he believed was a small encampment. What he found was a village of 10,000 people and thousands of warriors.
In less than an hour, Custer and all 268 men under his direct command were dead. It was the worst defeat the US Army suffered at the hands of Native Americans. The victory, though short-lived, made Sitting Bull internationally famous. He was murdered by Indian police in 1890 during a mishandled arrest — shot in front of his family at age 59.
Color Sitting's Portrait
The Alphabet Book of Generals — Who Resisted White Supremacy and Won features a full-page coloring portrait of Sitting with a color guide and fun fact. Perfect for children ages 4–12 and Black history education.
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