Chiefs, headmen, and warriors: Oglala politics, 1851-1889

During the second half of the nineteenth century, the Bureau of Indian Affairs strove to weaken the political power of Oglala Lakota chiefs, headmen, and warriors in its relentless assault on tribalism. By reassessing both historical and anthropological documents, this ethnohistorical study examines the Indian leaders\u27 determination and ability to challenge official policy. Red Cloud has often been regarded as the personification of Oglala chieftainship to the detriment of other tribally recognized men whose opinions white civilian and military authorities largely ignored during formal negotiations. While reconsidering Red Cloud\u27s position among the Oglalas, the study focuses on the various political roles, statuses, and objectives of other prominent men such as Little Wound, Old, and Young Man Afraid of His Horse, Red Dog, Black Twin, American Horse, George Sword, Blue Horse, Little Big Man, No Water, and Crazy Horse. Also explored are the complex political relationships among the chiefs, headmen, and warriors, and the nature of factionalism so prevalent in Oglala society before the division of the Great Sioux Reservation in 1889