Wakíŋyaŋ Čík’ala (''Little Thunder'')(1820-1879) was a

Brulé The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands (sometimes called "sub-tribes") of the Teton (Titonwan) Lakota American Indian people. They are known as Sičhą́ǧu Oyáte (in Lakȟóta) —Sicangu Oyate—, ''Sicangu Lakota, o''r "Burnt T ...

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language, the language of the Lakota peoples Place names In the United States: *Lakota, Iowa *Lakota, North Dakota, seat of Nelson County *Lakota ...

chief. He took over as chief of the

after the death of

Conquering Bear Matȟó Wayúhi ("Conquering Bear") ( 1800 – August 19, 1854) was a Brulé Lakota chief who signed the Fort Laramie Treaty (1851). He was killed in 1854 when troops from Fort Laramie entered his encampment to arrest a Sioux who had shot a calf ...

by U.S. Army soldiers in a dispute about a wandering

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

cow in 1854, which had prompted the Grattan Massacre of approximately 30 U.S. Army troops on August 19, 1854 and led to the First Sioux War. The U.S. Army sent 600 troops led by Brevet Gen.

William S. Harney William Selby Harney (August 22, 1800 – May 9, 1889) was a Tennessee-born cavalry officer in the US Army, who became known during the Indian Wars and the Mexican–American War for his brutality and ruthlessness. One of four general officers ...

to Little Thunder's village on Blue Water Creek, a tributary of the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, near what is now known as

Ash Hollow State Historical Park Ash Hollow State Historical Park is located south of Lewellen in Garden County, Nebraska. The park comprises two attractions located from each other: Ash Hollow Cave and Windlass Hill. Ash Hollow Cave A spring in the vicinity of Ash Hollow C ...

. Little Thunder was wounded and captured during the

Battle of Ash Hollow The Battle of Ash Hollow, also known as the Battle of Blue Water Creek or the Harney Massacre,, 2004, Nebraska State Historical Society; accessed 15 August 2016Warren, G.K. (Lt.) Report of September 4, 1855, and sketch of Battle Ground at Blue Wa ...

of September 3, 1855, in which approximately 86 Sioux (including women and children) were killed and another 70 captured. Little Thunder was then deposed, although his son would lead a rebellion in 1865,http://amertribes.proboards.com/thread/1198/little-thunder and a teenager who witnessed the massacre,

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( lkt, Tȟašúŋke Witkó, italic=no, , ; 1840 – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota war leader of the Oglala band in the 19th century. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by wh ...

, would become a war leader two decades and defeat U.S. Cavalry at the

Battle of Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

in 1876. Little Thunder lived his final years on the

Rosebud Indian Reservation The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as t ...

of the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of No ...

References

Brulé people Lakota leaders 1820 births 1879 deaths {{NorthAm-native-bio-stub