Gall (Native American leader)
Gall was a significant Hunkpapa Sioux leader born around 1840 along the Moreau River in Dakota Territory. Orphaned at a young age, he grew close to Sitting Bull and became an important ally in the resistance against U.S. government policies aimed at confining the Lakota people. Rising to prominence in the 1860s and 1870s, Gall was notably involved in the conflicts over the Bozeman Trail and the Black Hills, where he demonstrated remarkable military leadership during the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. This battle was particularly tragic for Gall, as he lost his two wives and three children during the initial assault on the Hunkpapa camp.
Following military defeats, Gall sought refuge in Canada with Sitting Bull but eventually returned to the U.S. in 1881, where he settled at the Standing Rock Agency. There, he advocated for a more conciliatory approach to the U.S. government, unlike Sitting Bull. Gall became a respected figure, serving as a spokesperson and judge within the reservation system, and he emphasized the importance of education for his people. Despite his collaboration with government officials, Gall's relationships with some fellow Native Americans soured due to his political choices. He passed away on December 5, 1894, in South Dakota, leaving behind a complex legacy marked by both leadership and controversy.
Subject Terms
Gall (Native American leader)
- Born: c. 1840
- Birthplace: Near Moreau River in present-day South Dakota
- Died: December 5, 1894
- Place of death: Oak Creek, South Dakota
Tribal affiliation: Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux)
Significance: Gall was a noted warrior and military tactician in the wars for the Bozeman Trail and the Black Hills; he was the principal Indian military strategist at the Little Bighorn
Gall was born about 1840 along the Moreau River in Dakota Territory. His father died when Gall was a young boy, and he was reared by his widowed mother and relatives. Sitting Bull took him as a younger brother, and for many years these two were close allies. He was most commonly called Pizi. According to family legend, as a child he tried to eat the gall of an animal. He was also known as Red Walker because as a child his father once dressed him entirely in vermillion clothing. Gall was also known as Man Who Goes in the Middle, and although the origin of this name is unclear, it probably refers to a battle exploit.
Gall rose to prominence in the 1860’s and 1870’s as a noted leader in the wars for the Bozeman Trail and the Black Hills. These battles were fought in present-day Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. He allied closely with Sitting Bull and was committed to resisting government attempts to confine the Lakota people to the Great Sioux Reservation after the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.
Gall’s greatest fame came from his participation in the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876. Major Marcus Reno’s command was the first to approach the Indian village, and they attacked the Hunkpapa camp. Gall’s two wives and three children were killed in this foray, and Gall later said, “It made my heart bad.” Gall led the counterattack that drove Reno from the village, and then he joined Crazy Horse in repelling Colonel George Armstrong Custer’s forces. Gall gained great notoriety in the American press for his military prowess at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and a newspaper labeled him “the worst Indian living.”
After Indian defeats following the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Gall accompanied Sitting Bull to Canada in 1877. Hungry and destitute, he reluctantly returned to the United States in 1881 with about three hundred people and surrendered at Poplar Agency in present-day eastern Montana. Gall was relocated to the Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota. There he was befriended by Indian agent James McLaughlin, who urged him to denounce Sitting Bull for his uncompromising attitude toward the reservation system. The early reservation period was difficult for the Lakota people, and Gall believed that it was best to compromise with the government officials; Sitting Bull did not. Gall became a favorite of Agent McLaughlin’s, and in 1889 was appointed a judge of the court of Indian Offenses and a spokesman in the negotiations that brought about the breakup of the Great Sioux Reservation.
During his last years, Gall was an envoy to Washington, D.C., on behalf of his band. He became a strong proponent of education, and he enjoyed considerable prestige among whites. He took no part in the Ghost Dance religion when it spread to Standing Rock; some years before he had become a staunch Episcopalian. Gall’s relationship with the United States government was not well received by other Indians, especially those who fought with him years earlier. This rejection was clear when Kicking Bear did a pictographic drawing of the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1898 and left a blank space where Gall should have been. Gall died at Oak Creek, South Dakota, on December 5, 1894.