Short Bull
Short Bull was a significant figure among the Oglala Sioux during a period of immense hardship for Native American communities in the late 19th century. Growing up alongside the renowned chief Crazy Horse, Short Bull became a chief himself around the same time as his childhood friend. As the Sioux became increasingly confined to reservations and faced dire conditions, including food shortages and disease outbreaks, a new spiritual movement emerged, led by the Paiute prophet Wovoka. He preached a vision of hope and renewal for Indigenous peoples, which inspired Short Bull and others to promote the Ghost Dance—a ritual believed to bring about a transformative future.
Short Bull, alongside Kicking Bear, took on prominent roles as high priests of this movement, although they eventually reinterpreted Wovoka's peaceful message into a call for resistance against white settlers. The subsequent unrest led to increased tensions, culminating in military intervention and tragic violence at the Wounded Knee Massacre, where many Sioux lost their lives. Following these events, Short Bull's influence waned, and he spent his later years on the Pine Ridge Reservation, eventually aligning with the Congregationalist church. His story reflects the complexities of Indigenous resistance and the impact of colonial forces on Native American spirituality and community life.
Subject Terms
Short Bull
- Born: c. 1845
- Birthplace: Niobrara River (now in northern Nebraska)
- Died: c. 1915
- Place of death: Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota
Tribal affiliation: Brule Sioux
Significance: Short Bull introduced the Ghost Dance to the Sioux and preached a holy war against whites
According to Chief He Dog, Short Bull grew up with the future Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse, played with him as a boy, and later fought in wars with him. They were made chiefs at about the same time.
By 1880, the Sioux had been effectively confined to reservations and reduced to a sorry condition. Their crops and cattle died. A miserly Congress skimped and dawdled in sending clothing and food rations. Epidemics of measles, influenza, and whooping cough combined with hunger to ravage the reservation and cause many deaths. The Sioux were unable to hunt their own food and were forbidden to practice the traditional Sun Dance, an important source of spiritual help.
Into this atmosphere of despair and anger came news of a Paiute prophet or messiah, Wovoka. He preached the peaceful coming of a new world of hope and life for the Indian. By 1891, this new world would push the whites back across the ocean. The buffalo would return, and all Indians, past and present, would live happily for eternity. In order for this millennium to occur, Indians had to pray, sing, and dance the Ghost Dance.
In winter, 1889, Short Bull and ten other Sioux, as part of a chosen delegation, journeyed to Utah to see Wovoka. They returned in spring, 1890, full of enthusiasm and hope. Short Bull and Kicking Bear rose to prominence as the high priests of this new religion, representing themselves as the special vicars of Wovoka. They reinterpreted Wovoka’s peaceful prophecies as a call to arms, however; they preached that the destruction of whites in a holy war was necessary to prepare for the new world. They wore ceremonial Ghost Shirts that would protect their wearers from the whites’ weapons.
The new religion found many converts, especially on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations. Major Sioux chiefs, among them Hump, Big Foot, and Sitting Bull, were attracted. Oglala and Brule Sioux spoke a fiery rhetoric and danced themselves into a trancelike condition. White settlers and the Pine Ridge agent began to panic and called for troops to restore order. Three thousand troops arrived.
Short Bull was arrested and imprisoned, and Hump was pacified. Sitting Bull was ordered arrested but was killed in the attempt. Big Foot surrendered at Wounded Knee, but tempers got out of hand. A skirmish broke out, and before it was over nearly three hundred Sioux and twenty-five soldiers had been killed. The Ghost Dance excitement faded away, and Short Bull fell into disrepute. Upon his release, Short Bull spent the rest of his days on the Pine Ridge Reservation and affiliated himself with the Congregationalists.