Lame Deer (1821-1877), also called "The Elk that Whistles Running," was a first chief of the Miniconjou Lakota (trans. "They who plant by the water") and vice chief of the Wakpokinyan (trans. "To Fly along the river") band.

Biography

Lame Deer was the second signatory of the 186
Treaty With The Sioux-Miniconjou Band
at Fort Sully, Dakota Territory (now just southeast of

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ; lkt, Čhúŋkaške, lit=fort) is the capital city of South Dakota, United States, and the seat of Hughes County. The population was 14,091 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least populous US state capital after Montpelier, ...

): "Tah-ke-chah-hoosh-tay, The Lame Deer, 1st chief of the Minneconjon band of Dakota or Sioux Indians". This group of Lakota were opposed to the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, which required the Lakota to cede much of their territory to the United States. Lame Deer's band of Miniconjou participated in all of the fighting against United States troops during the Sioux War of 1876, including the Battle of the Greasy Grass, also known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn, where the combined Lakota and allied forces dealt an overwhelming defeat to United States forces. Until 1877, Lame Deer and his followers continued to roam free around the Powder River area of Montana. The rest of the Sioux had surrendered to the United States or crossed into Canda with Sitting Bull. Colonel

Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American military general who served in the American Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War. From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding Gen ...

tracked Lame Deer's group to a tributary of the Rosebud known to the whites as the Big Muddy and to the Indians as Fat Horse Creek, about 1 mile southwest of the present-day town of

Lame Deer, Montana Lame Deer (Meaveʼhoʼeno in Cheyenne) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The community is named after Miniconjou Lakota chief Lame Deer, who was killed by the U.S. Army in 1877 under a flag of truce sout ...

. On May 7, 1877, soldiers under Miles's command attacked Lame Deer's encampment. Lame Deer was in the process of surrendering to Miles when a white scout aimed his rifle at Lame Deer. According to Miles, who was grasping Lame Deer's hand at the time, Lame Deer must have believed that he would be killed even if he surrendered. Lame Deer then pulled free and grabbed his rifle. He fired at Miles, missing him but killing a soldier. Lame Deer was shot in the ensuing gunfight and later died. Lame Deer was the grandfather of

John Fire Lame Deer John Fire Lame Deer (in Lakota ''Tȟáȟča Hušté''; March 17, 1903 – December 14, 1976, also known as Lame Deer, John Fire and John (Fire) Lame Deer) was a Lakota holy man, member of the Heyoka society, grandson of the Miniconjou head man L ...

who was born in the twentieth century.

Biography

References

Further reading