The lost chapter of Sitting Bull’s exile in Canada
After the Battle of Little Bighorn, Sitting Bull spent four years in exile in Canada. Find out more about the how, where and why here.
Image: Historic trail marker at the Fort Walsh National Historic Site, Saskatchewan | Shutterstock.com
One of the most famous Native Americans of all time, Sitting Bull was a tribal leader of the Lakota Sioux. His enduring struggles against the US government have made him a symbol of resistance against oppression the world over.
While Sitting Bull is best known for his role as a spiritual leader, his defeat of General Custer’s forces at the Battle of Little Bighorn and his ultimately tragic death, there is a lost chapter of his life in which the great man headed for the Canadian hills.
Intrigued? Read on to learn what the team at Sky HISTORY have uncovered about Sitting Bull’s exile in Canada. This article takes a look at the hardships he and his people faced north of the border and the reasons that compelled him to eventually return to the USA.
Background to exile
A fuller account of Sitting Bull’s life and times can be found elsewhere on Sky HISTORY, but it’s helpful to have a little context to his foray north here. Born into a high-ranking family in the Hunkpapa faction of the Lakota tribe, Sitting Bull quickly rose through the ranks to become its spiritual leader.
His position became even more firmly established when the Gold Rush of 1870s brought masses of white settlers and prospectors into the Black Hills in what is now South Dakota. Despite a treaty granting rights to the land to the Sioux, the US government were unwilling to enforce it, and the indigenous peoples found their lands increasingly encroached upon.
Sitting Bull’s leadership in the resistance to this incursion culminated in the Battle of Little Bighorn, where General Custer and over 200 men were slaughtered by the Native Americans. The government, thirsty for vengeance, brought the full force on the US Army to bear and Sitting Bull in particular became a marked man.
Driven ever further northwards and seeing his people cross the border in ever greater numbers, Sitting Bull finally made the decision to join them. In mid-1877, he sought refuge in the Cypress Hills of Canada, in modern-day Saskatchewan.
Diplomacy and friendship
Recognising the precariousness of their position in their new home, Sitting Bull quickly sought to make alliances with both the Canadian authorities and the native and other non-native tribes of the region.
He soon met with North West Mounted Police (NWMP) Inspector James Walsh. Walsh offered Sitting Bull and his people protection from the American army, as long as they promised to abide by Canadian law and refrained from using the country as a base from which to launch attacks south of the border.
Sitting Bull agreed to these terms and presented Walsh with a medal that his own grandfather had received in recognition of his valour in battle under George III. This was the beginning of a mutual respect and authentic friendship between the two, with Walsh often touted as the only white man Sitting Bull ever trusted.
Meanwhile, Sitting Bull also set about repairing relationships with old enemies and forging new ones with other tribes. After meeting with Crowfoot, the leader of the Blackfoot tribe, an uneasy truce was made, while Sitting Bull also made overtures to the local populations of the Assiniboines and the Gros Ventres.
Eventually, a camp of some 5,000 Sioux was established the Mountain Wood NWMP outpost was set up, with 22 registered officers keeping the peace.
Starvation and subjugation
Although the first year in Canada went largely well, problems soon surfaced. Chief among these was the scarcity of buffalo, which was the main food source of the Lakota and the other tribes in their vicinity.
The influx of refugees meant that there was less food to go around among more people and by the autumn of 1878 – just over one year after Sitting Bull’s arrival in Canada – the buffalo herds failed completely. To make matters worse, American traders prevented any of their own animals straying north of the border by setting fires along it. The crisis deepened.
Meanwhile, Sitting Bull had come up against something of a brick wall in his dealings with the Canadian government. Not only had they refused to grant him and his people a reservation, but they also stated that they would not provide them with food or shelter. Recognising that Walsh would be a barrier to any attempts to maltreat the Sioux or return them to the States, he was relieved of his post and moved elsewhere.
The incoming Inspector was not able to forge a similarly close bond with Sitting Bull and relations deteriorated. Withholding food allowed the government to use starvation as a means of subjugating the Sioux and while the other tribes were not exactly hostile to them, they too wished for the refugees to return to their own land so as to free up more resources.
Although Sitting Bull rejected several advances from US emissaries to return to the States, his people were losing their faith and abandoning his camp in droves. In 1881, the man himself was finally forced to acquiesce.
A return to the States
Sitting Bull’s surrender initially saw him spend several years at Fort Randall on the Missouri River as a prisoner of war. In 1885, he met the entertainer Buffalo Bill Cody and agreed to tour in his travelling Wild West show.
His status as a household name brought fame and fandom as he travelled round the country. He even met the US President Grover Cleveland at this time and was paid relatively well for his participation in the show. Ultimately, however, he was only permitted to appear in it for one season.
By late 1890, the rise of the so-called Ghost Movement (which prophesised the demise of the white man) put Sitting Bull back on the government’s radar, even though his involvement in the movement is dubious at best. On 15th December of that year, a force was sent to apprehend Sitting Bull and in the ensuing scuffle, he was shot and killed by members of his own tribe serving in the police.
Sitting Bull’s life as a whole is a lesson in leadership and integrity, but this oft-forgotten exile in Canada is a perfect demonstration of his fortitude, his cultural dignity and, despite his warlike image, his natural inclination for peace.
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