Short Bull
I am very proud of my great grandfather Short Bull, a warrior who fought at the Battle of the Little Big
Horn, and a medicine man who brought the Ghost Dance religion to the Lakotas. Unfortunately, through many
miscalculations by federal and army officials, the Ghost Dance religion resulted in the Wounded Knee Massacre
in 1890. After the Massacre, Short Bull was sent to serve a prison term at Ft. Sheridan, near Chicago.
Because they wanted to remove the Ghost Dance leaders' influence, the federal government agreed to Buffalo
Bill Cody's request that the prisoners be released to tour with Cody in his Wild West show. Short Bull
toured with the show in Europe and the United States over the next two years.
In 1894, my great grandfather was invited by Thomas Edison to appear along with Annie Oakley in a film
utilizing the kinetograph, the prototype of a movie camera. In 1893, Buffalo Bill Cody utilized Short Bull
as an actor and a consultant in making a film that re-enacted the Wounded Knee Massacre.
During their period from 1890-1920, many in the United States believed that the Indian was the "Vanishing
American", because disease and assimilation seemed destined to obliterate the American Indian from the
landscape of identified North American minorities. As a result, many American and European ethnologists
undertook research to preserve information on tribal languages, culture, history, and religious practices.
My great grandfather was a source to a number of these ethnologists who recorded his recollections through
recorded conversations and his pictographs. There are pictographs in museums in the United States, France
and Germany. There is an excellent article on Short Bull in the summer edition (1992) of the American Indian
Art magazine entitled "Short Bull - Lakota Visionary, Historian and Artist".
Taking pride in our ancestors reflects the commitment of Lakota people, and especially of Oglala Lakota
College's staff and students, to preserving our Lakota history, culture, traditions and heritage.
Pictographs
| Picture 1 | Picture 2 | Picture 3 | Picture 4 | Picture 5 |
