Crazy Horse’s Family Shares His Story More Than A Century Later

They came out with the book "Crazy Horse: Lakota Warrior and Legacy"

FARGO, N.D. — Crazy Horse is a Native American war leader who fought against the U.S. government in 1877 to protect the Lakota people’s land.

More than a century later, Crazy Horse’s family is sharing their story with the Fargo community.

Being a storyteller means that somebody has entrusted you to write their most personal experiences with not only truth, but the emotion that gets audiences to feel as though it’s their own story too.

William Mattson understands how much of an honor it can be to be a storyteller, after being able to share Native American war leader, Crazy Horse, and his family’s story with the world.

“It was a tremendous honor to be able to write it for them,” Mattson said.

Mattson spent 12 years writing the book “Crazy Horse: the Lakota Warrior and Legacy”.

Crazy Horse’s family, including his grandson Floyd Clown Sr., chose Mattson to write their story because they could tell he had a good heart.

“Our grandfather sent help from the four directions. That’s why when we first met him, we must know if you’re heart’s good or not. You’re the one that our grandfather sent,” Clown said.

They say the book is the first time their true story has been shared.

Clown says family members were never able to tell people they were related to Crazy Horse because back then, the government was going after the family.

That is until 2001, when Clown’s family told their identity to the world in a lawsuit they filed to get their grandfather’s estate back.

They’re now sharing it with the rest of the world to never hide their true identities again.

“Our book has no references in it in the back of this book where the stories came from. We didn’t get it from that book or that book. It’s directly from the blood family which is why you’ll never find these stories anywhere,” Clown said.

It’s exactly why Mattson says the book should keep being shared and why it needs to be shared in even more places such as schools.

“It’s part of the history of this continent. There’s a lot to learn from the Natives that a lot of us still haven’t learned or taken the time to learn,” Mattson said.

Crazy Horse has more than 3,000 family members spread out through the country to this day.