This Day in History March 25, 1879

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"The greatest of the fighting Cheyenne," Little Wolf surrendered to his friend Lieutenant W.P. Clark on this date in 1879.  Little Wolf was the chief of the Bowstring Soldiers, and he was indeed a fine a soldier.  He found against the Comanche and the Kiowa in his native Montana.

There is a lot of sketchy information about his roles in major Indian battles, but most historians believe that he was involved in both the Fetterman Massacre of 1866 (80 American soldiers were killed) and the Battle of Little Bighorn (1876).

In 1877, he and his people were sent to a reservation.  In 1878, he and his people decided to leave the reservation--as so many chose to do.  It was then on this date in 1879 that he surrendered.  His people were tired, and his old-time friend convinced him.

Upon returning to the reservation, he did act as a scout for a short time.  However, he was disgraced amongst his people when he killed one of his tribesman.

I often feel that the plight of Native Americans is overlooked by history.  While we cannot go back and redo what was done to the Native Americans, I still believe that the way the situation was handled in history was wrong.  I am ashamed of my race because of the way we treated them just like I am ashamed of how we treated African Americans and other races in this country.

For more information, please check out these sites:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cheyenne-chief-little-wolf-surrenders
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3883.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Wolf
http://scienceviews.com/indian/littlewolf.html