Born on Grand River, South.Dakota., He excelled in the virtues most admired by the Sioux: bravery, fortitude, generosity, and wisdom. With chiefs Crazy Horse and Gall, he stood fast against surrendering land or mining rights in the Black Hills after gold was discovered there in the mid-1870s. His father was one of the best-known members of the Unkpapa band of Sioux.
When Sitting Bull returned to the reservation around 1889, natives had joined a new religion called the Ghost Dance. They believed an Indian messiah would return their lands and remove the whites. Because of this new religion, Indian police arrested Sitting Bull on December 15, 1890 as a precaution. They planned to send him to prison, but when his warriors attempted to rescue him, Sitting Bull was killed. He was buried at Fort Yates
