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The Hunkpapa Lakota were one of the largest village circles in the village and were the first band of Lakota to become engaged in the Battle of the Little Bighorn as their village location was the first hit by Major Marcus Reno's attack. Several women and children were killed by Reno's battalion, including two wives and three children of the warrior chief Gall. One of the most famous of the Indian participants at the Battle of the Little Bighorn was Sitting Bull. Forty-five years old in 1876, Sitting Bull did not participate in the engagement, but directed Lakota and Cheyenne warriors where to attack. Hunkpapa warrior Rain-In-The-Face had long resented the Custer family, particularly Tom Custer, who had him arrested. Rain-In-The-Face had threatened to kill Custer and eat his heart. Although after the battle, Rain-In-The-Face claimed to have killed Custer, but he did not mention eating his heart, and there was no evidence of a missing heart when Custer's body was found, although there were many mutilations to his body. After the battle, the Lakota and Cheyenne split up. Sitting Bull led his followers into Canada where they remained until 1881, before returning to the United States where Sitting Bull surrendered at Fort Buford, Dakota Territory on July 19, 1881. Sitting Bull was murdered by Indian police at the Standing Rock Agency on December 15, 1890 during the Ghost Dance uprising, two weeks before the Wounded Knee Massacre. The Blackfoot (Sihasapa) Lakota Sioux occupied another of the village circles. There were roughly a dozen lodges in the Blackfoot circle. According to an 1880 interview with Charging Bear (Matho Wathakpe, John Grass) a participant at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the bands (tiyospaye) of the Sihasapa included:
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Last updated: March 17, 2023