Santee chief who led a failed uprising against the U.S. government in the 1860s. Little Crow is notable for having initially supported peace with the United States; however, he declared war after his people called him a coward and pressured him into proving his strength. A weak and at times incompetent leader who failed to maintain control over his followers, Little Crow won few victories against American troops and was later forced to flee into Canada with his remaining followers. He later returned to the U.S. and surrendered to the United States. Little Crow’s career as Santee chief is of particular importance in Native American history because it partly inspired Sitting Bull to take up arms against the United States instead of pursuing peaceful means of negotiation.
Little Crow Quotes in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee quotes below are all either spoken by Little Crow or refer to Little Crow. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3
Quotes
Little Crow rejected their arguments. The white men were too powerful, he said. Yet he admitted the settlers would exact bitter vengeance because women had been killed. Little Crow’s son, who was present, said later that his father's face grew haggard and great beads of sweat stood out on his forehead.
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Little Crow Character Timeline in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
The timeline below shows where the character Little Crow appears in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3: Little Crow’s War
In 1862, a Santee chief named Little Crow began to organize his people. Little Crow, an elderly man, had signed both of the...
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Little Crow blamed himself for his people’s suffering. One night, Santee tribesmen came to Little Crow, informing...
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Little Crow organized a raid on a U.S. government agency. The raid resulted in the deaths of...
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...neighboring branches of the Sioux tribe, including the Wahpeton and the Sisseton, arrived to join Little Crow . The next day, he led a second raid on Fort Ridgley. This time, Little...
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On September 1, Little Crow proposed a raid on the private army of Colonel Henry H. Sibley, a fur trader....
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Shortly afterwards, Sibley sent Little Crow an offer to negotiate, provided that Little Crow return all prisoners of war. Little Crow...
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On September 22, Little Crow began planning a raid on Sibley’s army at Wood Lake. In the morning, his men...
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Little Crow led his remaining followers into Canada. By June, however, he’d decided to return to Minnesota...
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In December 1863, U.S. troops crossed the Canadian border in search of Little Crow ’s remaining men. There, they found the men under the command of two of Little...
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