Why do we know so little about Crazy Horse?

Why do we know so little about Crazy Horse?

Paul Gordon
St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada

Simply put, Oglala war leader Crazy Horse was an incredibly defiant resistance fighter who shunned the spotlight.

Ian Frazier, in his book Great Plains, wrote he loved Crazy Horse “…because, unlike many people all over the world, when he met white men he was not diminished by the encounter; because his dislike of the oncoming civilization was prophetic…deprived of freedom, power, occupation, culture, trapped in a situation where bravery was invisible, he was still brave….”

Crazy Horse died relatively early, in 1877, whereas other Indians, like Geronimo and Sitting Bull, became better known because they lived for many years after that—and both of those men put in time with Wild West shows.

To learn more about the Sioux warrior, read The Killing of Crazy Horse by Thomas Powers.

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Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian. His latest book is Wyatt Earp: Showdown at Tombstone. If you have a question, write: Ask the Marshall, P.O. Box 8008, Cave Creek, AZ 85327 or e-mail him at marshall.trimble@scottsdalecc.edu