Crazy Horse: The Man Tasunke Witco (Crazy Horse) was an Oglala Lakota Sioux. He was born between 1840 and 1845 (sources differ) near the Rapid Creek. It is 40 miles northeast of Thunder Mountain, site of the Crazy Horse Memorial. He was the son of a medicine man and raised by women in his family. As he grew his rite of passage "Vision Quest‐Hanbleceya" to become a Lakota warrior set his path of life. The passage meant going into the Black Hills for four days without food or water and in search of his dream. By his teens, Crazy Horse was a warrior and showed it with his bravery and skills. His single hawk feather, rock behind his ear and lightning bolt symbol on his face was his moniker. In 1876, Crazy Horse led the battle at Little Bighorn and defeated Custer. The result of that event brought more U.S. military forces into the Northern Plains. These were contentious times in the Northern Plains. Both Indian and white cultures and people clashed. Traditional Indian ways, land and culture were being taken even though treaties were made and then broken. The news of gold in the Black Hills and the constant movement of settlers west brought military to protect and try to defend both parties at times, but the Indian was on the losing end. The military used tactics like destroying the Buffalo, capturing tribes who resisted and forcing the Indians into a forced alliance. Chief Joseph and Sitting Bull were later surrendered. The result found many of the Indian people move across the country to reservations. Famine, cold and continued white settlement through and in their lands caused Crazy Horse, under a flag of truce in 1877, to go to Fort Robinson to negotiate with U.S. military. He died, but not confirmable, on September 5 or 6, 1877. His body was taken by the Sioux and buried in an unknown location near Wounded Knee. The accounts in the Crazy Horse Memorial death has shown different interpretations. Little Big Man was portrayed as a friend and fellow Lakota warrior. He tried to subdue Crazy Horse when agitated when thought he was going to be imprisoned at the fort. The situation also mentioned translation problems, a scuffle ended when an "infantry guard lunged his bayonet and mortally wounded the great warrior." In the "Crazy Horse" movie, the death of Crazy Horse was much different. It had to do with Crazy Horse's Vision Quest, that he would become the leader of his tribe and only die by the hand of another Lakota. In the movie scenario, it was Little Big Man who caused the arrest of Crazy Horse. Little Big Man had left the Lakota Indian tribe, became a military scout and continued to show contempt and envy of Crazy Horse. In the film, it was he who plunged his bayonet into Crazy Horse at the fort. "Crazy Horse" the movie, was advertised as taking an "Indian point of view." noted that the script, with all white main actors, was undeniably subjected to Hollywood editorial changes. Background on Crazy Horse: "Crazy Horse (Tasunke Witco) was named Čháŋ Óhaŋ (Among the Trees) at birth, meaning he was one with nature. His mother, Tȟašína Ȟlaȟlá Wiŋ (Rattling Blanket Woman, born 1814), gave him the nickname Pȟehíŋ Yuȟáȟa (Curly) or Žiží (Light Hair) as his light curly hair resembled her own. She died when Crazy Horse was only four years old." "Curly's (Crazy Horse's) father was called Tashunka Witco, which means Crazy Horse. Legend has it that Curly had a vision of himself defending his people while riding into battle on a horse. When Curly grew older and wiser, his father decided to honor his vision by giving Curly the name Crazy Horse. His father changed his own name to Waglula, which means Worm." "Crazy Horse refused to have his photo taken his entire life." "The 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie declared that the Black Hills of South Dakota belonged to the Sioux, but the agreement was broken just six years after it was signed—all because prospectors had discovered gold in the region. In 1874, the government sent General George Armstrong Custer to lead a surveying party there. When the Sioux wouldn't sell these lands, the government ordered them onto reservations. In 1876, the U.S. Department of War ordered all Lakota onto reservations. Crazy Horse refused. Instead, he led 1500 Lakota and Cheyenne warriors in a battle against Brigadier General George Crook, whose men were attempting to approach Hunkpapa Lakota chief Sitting Bull’s encampment at Little Bighorn. The battle was a strategic victory for Crazy Horse: It sent Crook's army packing and deprived George Custer’s Seventh Cavalry of much‐needed reinforcements." "An Arapaho warrior named Water Man said Crazy Horse 'was the bravest man I ever saw. He rode closest to the soldiers, yelling to his warriors. All the soldiers were shooting at him, but he was never hit.' Another Native American soldier said, The greatest fighter in the whole battle was Crazy Horse.” Sources: https://crazyhorsememorial.org/, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047935/, "Crazy Horse," Universal International, 1955, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse, https://www.history.com/topics/native‐ american‐history/crazy‐horse, https://www.biography.com/military‐figure/crazy‐horse, https://www.wearethemighty.com/history/how‐crazy‐horse‐earned‐name, https://www.ducksters.com/history/native_americans/crazy_horse.php and http://mentalfloss.com/article/553397/facts‐about‐crazy‐horse. acuri.net John R. Vincenti Crazy Horse: The Man