Sitting Bull Fleeing West: Lakota Seek Safety in Canada
Sitting Bull led roughly 5,000 Lakota people, including 1,000 warriors, across the international boundary into Saskatchewan in May 1877, seeking refuge from the U.S. Army's relentless pursuit following the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The Canadian government, through the North-West Mounted Police under Major James Walsh, allowed them to stay but refused to provide rations or a permanent reservation. Relations with local First Nations groups were tense as the buffalo herds that sustained all Plains peoples dwindled rapidly. After four years of hunger and declining band numbers as families drifted south to surrender, Sitting Bull finally crossed back into the United States on July 19, 1881, surrendering at Fort Buford, North Dakota, with only 186 followers remaining.
May 5, 1877
149 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Canada
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United States Army
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Indian Wars
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Colonel
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Sitting Bull
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Lakota people
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Nelson Miles
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American Indian Wars
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Colonel
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American Indian Wars
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Sitting Bull
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Lakota people
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United States Army
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Colonel (United States)
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Nelson A. Miles
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