Sitting Bull and the Medicine Line
In early May 1877, the Lakota Sioux medicine man and war chief Sitting Bull led his following of 135 lodges across the "medicine line" which was the name used for the border between the United States and Canada. Sitting Bull 's decision to move his people north into the Province of Saskatchewan was the outcome of the gradual erosion of the Sioux way of life in the American plains because of the decimation of the buffalo herds. In addition, he was unable to protect his people against the U.S. military in the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877. He hoped that in Canada he would enjoy the protection of the Great Mother, Queen Victoria, and that the buffalo herds would return to allow Sioux to rebuild their way of life.
Their stay in Canada, however, only temporarily allowed the Lakota Sioux to maintain their way of life. The Sioux were unable to obtain sufficient food from hunting and were harassed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). In 1881, Sitting Bull made the decision to return to the United States with his followers, surrendering to the United States at Fort Buford in North Dakota. Sitting Bull and his followers were eventually placed at the Standing Rock Reservation and many died at the hands of the U.S. Cavalry at the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. In the same year, Sitting Bull was shot when Reservation police attempted to arrest him.
The Decision to Cross the Medicine Line The Sioux had left Michigan for the Great Plains from Michigan in the late eighteenth century to escape from the westward movement of European settlers. After 1850, however, the westward migration of European settlers created a significant threat to
Sitting Bull 3 the Sioux way of life. The buffalo herds were gradually disappearing and farmers were beginning to cultivate grazing lands, which reduced the ability of the Sioux to hunt.
In addition, the Sioux had difficulty migrating to find game because of treaties that limited them to reservation lands
Their stay in Canada, however, only temporarily allowed the Lakota Sioux to maintain their way of life. The Sioux were unable to obtain sufficient food from hunting and were harassed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). In 1881, Sitting Bull made the decision to return to the United States with his followers, surrendering to the United States at Fort Buford in North Dakota. Sitting Bull and his followers were eventually placed at the Standing Rock Reservation and many died at the hands of the U.S. Cavalry at the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. In the same year, Sitting Bull was shot when Reservation police attempted to arrest him.
The Decision to Cross the Medicine Line The Sioux had left Michigan for the Great Plains from Michigan in the late eighteenth century to escape from the westward movement of European settlers. After 1850, however, the westward migration of European settlers created a significant threat to
Sitting Bull 3 the Sioux way of life. The buffalo herds were gradually disappearing and farmers were beginning to cultivate grazing lands, which reduced the ability of the Sioux to hunt.
In addition, the Sioux had difficulty migrating to find game because of treaties that limited them to reservation lands
References: Utley, R. (2008). Sitting Bull: The life and times of an American patriot Robinson, C. (2001). General Crook and the western frontier. Norman OK: University of Oklahoma Press. McCrady, D. (2010). Living with strangers: The nineteenth century Sioux and the Canadian-American borderlands Ostler, J. (2004). The plains Sioux and U.S. colonialism from Lewis and Clark to Wounded Knee Felton, M. (2009). The Sioux hegira in Canada, 1876-1881: The layering and framing of aboriginal identity Greene, J. (2000). Lakota and Cheyenne: Indian views of the Great Sioux War, 1876-1877 Stevenson, D. (2005). The frosts of winter. Victoria BC: Trafford Publishing. La Dow, B. (2001). The medicine line: Life and death on a North American Borderland