Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

by

Dee Brown

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William Bent Character Analysis

A white man who lived among the Cheyennes, Bent advised Black Kettle to avoid conflict with U.S. troops by keeping his people from retaliating against white settlers, and he helped Black Kettle and members of the Arapaho tribe negotiate with the U.S. government. Bent married a Cheyenne woman, Yellow Woman, with whom he had two sons, Charlie and George, who later became involved in diplomacy on behalf of Native American tribes.
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William Bent Character Timeline in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

The timeline below shows where the character William Bent appears in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: War Comes to the Cheyennes
Law and Property Theme Icon
Resistance and Violence Theme Icon
Confused by the American troops’ actions, Black Kettle consulted with a man named William Bent . Bent was a white man, but he’d lived with the Cheyennes for years, and... (full context)
Law and Property Theme Icon
Resistance and Violence Theme Icon
...the statement, Black Kettle and other chiefs tried to control their people and prevent retaliation. William Bent ’s son George Bent sent a letter to a government agent, offering to exchange white... (full context)
Genocide Theme Icon
Resistance and Violence Theme Icon
...the people fleeing the massacre was George Bent, the half Cheyenne, half white son of William Bent . George reunited with his brother Charlie Bent on William Bent’s ranch. The brothers agreed... (full context)
Law and Property Theme Icon
Resistance and Violence Theme Icon
...of U.S. government officials met with Black Kettle in order to create a new treaty. William Bent helped Black Kettle and representatives from the Arapaho tribe negotiate with the government. The government’s... (full context)
Chapter 5: Powder River Invasion
Genocide Theme Icon
Law and Property Theme Icon
Resistance and Violence Theme Icon
...a meeting. Among the Cheyenne representatives were George Bent and Charlie Bent, the sons of William Bent . (full context)
Law and Property Theme Icon
Resistance and Violence Theme Icon
...out to General Patrick E. Connor’s fort. Among them was Yellow Woman, the wife of William Bent . They had come to see whether there was a fort or not. As the... (full context)
Chapter 7: “The Only Good Indian Is a Dead Indian”
Law and Property Theme Icon
...Cheyennes migrated south with Red Cloud. One of these was George Bent, the son of William Bent . George returned to the Kansas area, where he learned the Southern Cheyennes’ old friend... (full context)