Crazy Horse was one of the best Native American leaders the “white man” had to deal with. He understood from a young age that white and red relations wouldn’t be able to be resolved as well as knowing that fighting with the U.S. Army in the standard native way wouldn’t work. They were outmatched typically by firepower and a lot of times by numbers, but the Natives of America were a very proud people so they had belief in themselves. Crazy Horse knew that being too proud was surely a death sentence in the times because without furthering themselves and developing new strategies they would surely perish. The older leaders, during his more youthful years, wanted to make peace treaties, but the Natives didn’t have a true central government, just central beliefs that everyone thought to follow. This created no way for any one native to tell the other adult natives what they could and couldn’t do including following the treaty.

Crazy Horse was awarded one of the highest honors in native culture by becoming a “shirt wearer” which meant he wasn’t just the best of the best at hunting and war, but in helping others as well. When he was young, a vision told him to never take anything for himself and always help the young and old who could not help themselves. Although Crazy Horse was one of the most respected Native leaders of the time, he was never truly wealthy because that was not what the ideals of the traditions the Sioux had created. A man was considered wealthy if they had more horse and buffalo robes, but Crazy Horse gave a lot of those away to help others prosper. When he went on hunts, he would always give his killings to the poorer of the society and eat scraps because he was young and could do with less. This is something we forget in today’s world and should try to get back too. Crazy Horse wasn’t just an excellent hunter, but an excellent mind as well.

Crazy Horse was able to defeat Civil War generals in battles including killing both General George Armstrong Custer and General William J. Fetterman. His idea was that on the great plains the army trusted superior weaponry over superior numbers and the U.S. Government did not know how many Sioux there truly were in the great plains. This lack of information pushed the generals to think they could chase the natives over open land and into the forests because they had the superior weapons, but eventually got good leaders like Custer and Fetterman killed. Again, it was pride being their issue as well. The sheer numbers of Sioux along with the accuracy and number of arrows being shot would overwhelm the army in their formal lines and the army stood no chance. Over time, the lack of true leadership and hierarchy within the Sioux became their downfall because no one Native could control the actions of another. This would result in a tribal Chief making a “peace treaty” with the U.S. but other natives from the same tribe would not agree and go about trying to keep the “white man” out of their sacred land. Therefore, both sides would break the treaties and be in war during the span of treaties. Many innocents lost their lives from both sides and eventually the Native numbers dwindled and caused them to be confined in camps. Crazy Horse was killed in one of these camps by a military soldier who claimed Crazy Horse resisted to being arrested.

There are many things people can learn from researching about Crazy Horse, but a few truly stand out. To be a great leader and get others to follow in a non hierarchy, you must be more of an altruist than a narcissist. When others come first and that it is truly sincere, men and women want to follow. Second, pride was the Natives greatest downfall and even though Crazy Horse had plenty of pride, he didn’t let it get in the way of sound judgement. He was, in many ways, a stoic without ever knowing what that was. Lastly, Crazy Horse put the society above his own personal well-being just as the “Robbin Hood of poker” does today. When a man is at a point to help others, he should always do it, or expect ramifications from God or karma or whatever you choose to believe in.

See all you Bad Asses next week

Love,

Your friendly neighborhood Gare Bear