Crazy Horse and Red Cloud

Exam 1 Essay
Strengths and Weaknesses of Crazy Horse and Red Cloud

Throughout the 19th century and all of the hardships Native Americans endured, many Native American leaders came to and fell from power. With all of changes whites brought to the plains including everything from the idea of purchasing land to the introduction of whisky, life for Native Americans of the Great Plains became increasingly harder and harder. Whites were relentless in the way they pushed the Native Americans to their breaking points causing many internal conflicts something almost unheard of in pre-white times. Among the many pressures of the whites, the fact that the Great Plains Native Americans were a highly decentralized group of people, made it even harder for the many tribes to remain together and continue embracing their culture and way of life. During this time of struggle, two people strived to lead their people in the ways they felt would best benefit them, Crazy Horse and Red Cloud, both leaders of the Oglala people. Since nearly the beginning, Crazy Horse had been the unselfish one, the one to do the things for his people, not one to brag and boast of his accomplishments. Since Crazy Horse’s vision, he gave everything he could to protect his people and their way of life even if it meant giving his own. As the title of the book states, Crazy Horse was the strange man of the Oglala, he didn’t take part in the normal traditions men of his tribe did. He didn’t count coup to impress other tribe members, he didn’t celebrate after victorious battles where his actions took a great part in, and he didn’t kill for himself like other young warriors, he killed for his people1. Red Cloud was, for the most part, fairly similar in the ways of Crazy Horse. Red Cloud did many things great for his Bad Face/Oglala people just as Crazy Horse did. The main difference between Red Cloud and Crazy Horse was the fact that Red Cloud was much more vocal and heard when he was present. Red Cloud had much more interest in political power than Crazy Horse did. The fact that Red Cloud was older than the young and somewhat aggressive Crazy Horse most likely played a part in how they viewed the incoming whites. For quite some time, Crazy Horse and Red Cloud agreed on the way they would handle the whites, even helping each other strategize battles including prominent battles such as the Fetterman Fight 2. During the later part of Red Cloud’s War, I believe the interest in political power and age began to change Red Cloud’s ideology of the whites. Years ago when the whites first began building forts along the Holy Road, elderly Native Americans as well as young mothers and children became used to the fort life and eventually became dependent on the white fort society as “Loafers”. The same way the elderly adapted to the whites then was the same way Red Cloud was going to adapt now, especially knowing the role he could play in politics. Crazy Horse saw Red Cloud’s ideology of the whites go from almost complete disgust to willing to negotiate and began to view Red Cloud as two-faced. I believe the fact that Crazy Horse was watching a fellow tribesman fall for the false promises of the whites, especially one of Red Cloud’s eminences, pushed Crazy Horse even farther away from the idea of negotiating with the whites. A prime example of how Crazy Horse felt about Red Cloud was when Red Cloud went to visit the Great Father. When Red Cloud and the other tribesman left, Crazy Horse could barely hold back his anger. It seemed to me, that Crazy Horse has so much built up anger, that we had to plan raids against the Crows just to release his frustration which he also believed were benefitting his people more than the tribesman going to speak with the Great Father 3. I believe that both Crazy Horse and Red Cloud has similar strengths and weaknesses in the way they went about dealing with the invasion by the United States. Like I said earlier, both men fought and struggled to keep their people safe and unmoved by the incoming whites. As time went by, Red Cloud became more and more political with the whites allowing for negotiating and ultimately, the signing of treaty papers, something that Crazy horse never did. I believe that the way Crazy Horse never changed his mind on how to deal with the invasion was a definite strength. Taking a stand and committing to it is a much bigger display of power, confidence, and strength than changing stances such as Red Cloud did. On the other hand, we see Red Cloud giving up Crazy Horse’s stance to take the stance of a political mediator and keeper of the peace, a position I’m sure he felt was a strength to have for his people. In the end, both men had taken different paths to protect their people and way of life as each saw fit. Red Cloud took the road of politics and negotiating to keep his people together and continue into the next era. I would assume that the very idea of surrender to the whites made Crazy Horse sick, so he took the road of defiance and action to keep his people together even if it meant more bloodshed. Ultimately, the decision of the Oglala people to side with either Red Cloud or Crazy Horse during the white invasion must have been a good test of to what they value most in life. For someone to side with Crazy Horse meant possibly sacrificing their life to keep the way of the Oglala, while on the side of Red Cloud, a tribesman could assume a role under the spokesperson Red Cloud came to be and be slowly transitioned into the white society as the whites wanted. I like to think that if I were an Oglala I would want to go down in history for being the tribe that stood up to the white invasion in order to keep my way family, culture, and way of life in existence instead of being transformed into a completely new environment by a new incoming race of powerful people. But then again I am a young man and could most closely relate to the young warriors in the time of the white invasion who made quick decisions and didn’t think too much before they acted, especially in instances of battle. So, the answer to the question of which man promised the best option for the Oglalas is not clear-cut. Many variables factor into the answer for each Oglala of that time period. Go with Red Cloud and lose your way of life while at least still having life or follow Crazy Horse and most likely give your life in the fight to keep the old Oglala ways. Both options have their pros and cons. The answer to that question relies on what that individual Oglala held highest, life as an Oglala, or life as Oglala controlled by white society.