Crow Dog (also Kȟaŋǧí Šúŋka, Jerome Crow Dog; – August 1912) was a Brulé Lakota subchief, born at Horse Stealing Creek,

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

Family

He was the nephew of former principal chief Conquering Bear, who was killed in 1854 in an incident which would be known as the Grattan massacre. He was the great-grandfather of Leonard Crow Dog (1942–2021), a practitioner of traditional herbal medicine, a leader of

Sun Dance The Sun Dance is a ceremony practiced by some Native Americans in the United States and Indigenous peoples in Canada, primarily those of the Plains Indians, Plains cultures, as well as a new movement within Native American religions. Members of ...

ceremonies, and preserver of Lakota traditions.

Life

Crow Dog was a traditionalist and one of the leaders who helped popularize the Ghost Dance. After receiving a vision, Jerome warned several dancers to stay away from a large gathering of tribes in 1890 thus saving them from being victims of the

Wounded Knee Massacre The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army. More than 250 people of the Lakota were killed and 51 wounded (4 men and 47 women a ...

Murder trial

On August 5, 1881, after a long-simmering feud, Crow Dog shot and killed principal chief Spotted Tail (who was also at the Grattan massacre), on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. A

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

was convened and he was tried and convicted in Dakota Territorial court in

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as the county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had its ...

, and sentenced to death which was to be carried out on January 14, 1884. He was imprisoned in Deadwood pending the outcome of his appeals. According to historian Dee Brown in his bestselling book, ''

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West'' is a 1970 non-fiction book by American writer Dee Brown. It explores the history of American expansionism in the American West in the late nineteenth century and its de ...

'':

White officials... dismissed the killing as the culmination of a quarrel over a woman, but Spotted Tail's friends said that it was the result of a plot to break the power of the chiefs...

In 1883, writs of ''habeas corpus'' and ''

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...

'' were filed on his behalf by lawyers who volunteered to represent him ''

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

''; his case was argued in November 1883 before the U.S.

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in '' Ex parte Crow Dog''. On December 17, 1883, the court ruled in a unanimous decision that according to the provisions of the Treaty of Fort Laramie, signed on April 29, 1868, and approved by Congress on February 28, 1877, the Dakota Territorial court had no jurisdiction over the Rosebud reservation and subsequently overturned his conviction. This ruling cited a previous Supreme Court ruling in ''

Worcester v. Georgia ''Worcester v. Georgia'', 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832), was a landmark case in which the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester and held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non-Native Americans from ...

'', 31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515 (1832), a case brought by the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

tribe against the state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in which the court ruled that Native Americans were entitled to federal protection from the actions of state governments which would infringe on the tribe's

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

Major Crimes Act

In response to the ruling in ''Ex parte Crow Dog'', the U.S. Congress passed the

Major Crimes Act The Major Crimes Act of 1885 or (18 U.S.C. § 1153), enacted as section 9 of the Indian Appropriations Act, 1886,

() in 1885. It places 15 major crimes under federal jurisdiction if they occur on Native territory, even if both perpetrator and victim are Native American, beginning a legal doctrine limiting tribal sovereignty.

Later life

Crow Dog returned to the Rosebud Indian Reservation, where he remained for the rest of his life. He died there in August 1912.

References

External links

''Ex parte Crow Dog'', 109 U.S. 556, 3 S.Ct. 396, 27 L.Ed. 1030 (1883)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crow Dog 1830s births 1912 deaths Sicangu people Lakota leaders Native American people of the Indian Wars American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to death People from Montana People convicted of murder by the United States federal government Prisoners sentenced to death by the United States federal government