The Seventh Calvary and War With The Sioux: Bears Belly

In 1874, Son-of-the-Star visited Washington where he conversed with an Indian agent representing the United States government. Son-of-the-Star was chief of police for White Shield and the Arikara and was granted higher recognition from the U.S. and its representatives. The Arikara police force was formed some years earlier to garner peace between the Arikara and the whites. Enforced by the Arikara themselves at the behest of the United States government, the Arikara police were primarily policing any interactions and skirmishes coming from the Arikara side towards any white settlers. Both sides proclaimed their troubles with the Dakota and sought to work together to defeat Sitting Bull, solidifying the support between the Arikara and the whites toward a common enemy.

The Arikara agreed to send warriors to fight the Sioux, and the U.S. government agreed to do the same. The Indian agent said, "Son-of-the-Star, you have touched my heart. I am sorry that both your people and mine have trouble with the Dakotas. You have made tears come to my eyes… I will do what you suggest. I will decide to fight Sitting Bull and I will fight him," (Libby 39). Promises of money and rewards such as livestock abounded for the Arikara who were to officially join in the fight against the hostile Dakota. Over and over, these same promises were relayed to the Arikara scouts. The Arikara trusted the government and agreed to fight with the white soldiers. Son-of-the-Star and the handful of Indians who accompanied him to Washington left with promises of more soldiers in their fight. Some Winchester rifles for each of the visiting Indian warriors were provided to take home with them.

With the gold rush still gaining steam on Lakota land among the Black Hills, more and more violence occurred between the Sioux and the white settlers. The Lakota began negotiating with Ulysses S. Grant, who was nearing the end of his second term as Great White Father (U.S. President), on how to deal with those who were coming into Sioux land illegally. Grant faced a chaotic and unserious governmental approach toward Indian affairs throughout his presidency that he sought to correct.

Instead of focusing on tribes as individual nations, he favored assimilating the Indians into American society and Christianity. Doing so would solve the problems of dealing with other nations within a land that constantly saw the spread of white settlers in search of resources and riches. Grant even put in charge of Indian Affairs an assimilated Seneca Indian, Ely Parker, to oversee the conflicts between the Indians and Americans and to push forward his assimilation agenda. Parker eventually resigned in 1871 in the heat of corruption allegations; however, he did help garner a more respectful approach towards Indian issues that led to less government violence towards tribes. By the end of Grant's presidency, Grant had implemented policies that sought to place Indians as wards of the government instead of sovereign individuals within a Native Nation.

In May of 1875, Red Cloud, Chief of the Lakota Sioux, entered into negotiations with President Grant regarding the influx of illegal setters in the Black Hills. Other Sioux leaders, primarily Sitting Bull, were readying for war with the U.S. while Red Cloud met with Grant. The Sioux didn't accomplish much from these negotiations. As a president intent on Indian assimilation, Grant pressured the Lakota to allow the whites to enter the Black Hills and mine for gold and pushed the Sioux to assimilate into American society instead of fighting against it. Several months later, Grant put in motion a plan to protect the Black Hills white settlers and remove the Lakota Sioux from their land and into a reservation where they could be contained and removed as threats. The Sioux had lost their land in the government's eyes. However, the Sioux wanted to maintain their rights to the land they had inhabited for centuries prior and knew they had to fight to keep it. The ground was set for more violence between the U.S. government and the Dakota.

President Grant established a deadline of January 31, 1876, for all Lakota and Arapaho Indians to report to their newly formed reservation land or be considered "hostile" and engaged with violence if they refused. The Lakota, having fought back against the influx of white settlers coming to mine the Black Hills and surrounding areas, didn’t take well to the American government telling them they needed to stay within new reservation bounds when that same government wouldn’t, or couldn’t, control their own citizens from entering the tribal land allotted to them through the Fort Laramie treaty. The Lakota were seen as hostiles because of this, and the American government noted that other Indians from different tribes — even from as far away as Missouri — were seen joining the ranks of the Lakota rebellion. The agents of those reservations did not give adequate notification that many Indians were leaving their lands which helped the Lakota build up their own military force of around 3000 (Libby 24).

Many Dakota followed the instructions and placed themselves within the arbitrary boundaries the government laid out for them. Yet, many Lakota Sioux led by Sitting Bull disobeyed their January 1876 deadline, and the American government saw through their threat to respond with military force to put the Lakota Indians in their place. There is no such mention of similar threats or struggles with the white settlers who invaded Indian territory, causing the issue in the first place. Those individuals were conveniently ignored, though they were breaking the law established between the two nations. Regardless, the U.S. military was ready to march, but the interior secretary first wanted to send runners to tell the Lakota to return to their bounds to avoid war. Cooler heads prevailed in the lead-up, but the hostile Lakota were no longer interested in working with a government that had lied to them several times previously. The tables were then turned, and the Lakota faced hostile people intent on shutting down the Indians.

In May of 1876, a year after the most recent negotiations between the Dakota and the U.S. government, Lt. Col. Custer and his men marched on to corral the Dakota and Arapaho Indians who did not report to their reservations and make clear the path for not only the gold miners in the Black Hills but for any other American citizen to settle the land first given to the Dakota as desired. Custer made a quick trip to Washington before they set out on this expedition and returned six days later. Like Son-of-the-Star and the other Indians who visited Washington earlier, Custer came back with promises filling his mind made from the lips of the leaders of the United States government.

On the day before they were to move out, Custer met with Bloody Knife, Soldier, and Bob-tailed Bull, three other Arikara scouts, and relayed his appreciation for Bob-tailed Bull and the rest of the scouts that Son-of-the-Star provided him. Bloody Knife was Custer's favorite scout and was given a medal and a handkerchief from Washington by Custer. Many good words were shared between the men, and Custer ended their time together with a promise to the scouts, “If I should happen to lose any of the men Son-of-the-Star has furnished, their reward will not be forgotten by the government. Their relations will be saddened by their death but there will be some comfort in the pay that the United States government will provide," (Libby 56). The scouts were also promised “papers” for each of them so that “you will have plenty to eat for all time to come, and you and your children." These papers were supposedly powerful enough that whenever the Arikara scouts were hungry, they could take the documents to any American citizen and receive goods from them. Stores were to give the Indians what they needed and what they wished.

These Indian scouts were to be rewarded handsomely for their service, given power from a soon-to-be Great Father of the white men who may have been able to make it happen. Bob-tailed Bull was then placed as a leader, with Soldier as second-in-command of the scouts. Encouraged to speak by Custer, Bob-tailed Bull gave a speech that included his appreciation for Custer and what they were about to accomplish: “My brother, I am going to address you so, for you said we were brothers, I have had experience fighting the Sioux, and when we meet them we shall see each other’s bravery." Custer then took Bob-tailed Bull aside and shared some personal news with him.

While in Washington, Custer was told to go on one final campaign among the Indians. He needed a victory, no matter how small it was. Even a win over five Dakota tipis would suffice. Once he had the victory in his final campaign, Custer was to return to Washington where, in Custer’s words, he was to become President. Custer even delightfully told him that he would bring Bloody Knife to Washington. Bob-tailed Bull relayed this story years later, giving insight into Custer's ambition and laying the groundwork for a tragic tale of Custer's end.