Crazy Horse The European settlement of North America met its fiercest adversary, the Lakota also known as the Western Sioux, who inhabited most of the Great Plains. The Oglala tribe, a branch of the Sioux nation, was instrumental in the resistance against the white man. At the center of their resistance was Crazy Horse, a warrior like no other. Crazy Horse fought for the traditions of his people, until those same people grew tired of the war and, in some cases, turned against him. Chief Crazy Horse led an extraordinary life and will always be remembered. Crazy Horse was born in the fall of 1841 into the Hunkpatila band of the Oglala tribe of the Sioux nation. At the time of his birth, his band was camped near a stream called Rapid Creek in the Black Hills. Sioux children were often given names based on their physical appearance. Later in life, they would receive a formal name after an act of courage or a spiritual experience. Crazy Horse was affectionately called Curly Hair. The curly hair looked different from other Sioux children. She had a narrow face, pale skin, and soft light brown curly hair. It was said that he got his light skin from his mother, a Brulé who died when he was still young. The Brules were a tribe within the Sioux nation. Crazy Horse, the boy's father, was the holy man of the Hunkpatila band, or subgroup, of the Oglala tribe. He was respected for his good advice and wisdom. It was common for a Sioux male to have two wives. When Curly Hair's mother died, Crazy Horse's second wife became his mother. “When Curly was eleven years old, he killed his first buffalo [by shooting] it with four arrows as he rode alongside it in a fast chase,” (Hook 13) . When Curly was twelve years old, he and some other young Indians of his tribe went horse hunting... middle of paper... drawings of Mount Rushmore could fit in Crazy Horse's head. The memorial depicts Crazy Horse on horseback with his arm outstretched in the direction he is looking. This is a reference to when he was asked where his lands were. His response, as he pointed out, was “my lands are where my dead lie buried” (DeWall 4). The piece was built without any government funding, all money comes from donations. The new generations of Sioux Indians volunteer to help create this monument. Works Cited Ambrose, Stephen E. Crazy Horse, and Custer. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, 1975. Cunningham, Chet. Chief Crazy Horse. Minneapolis: Lerner, 2000.DeWall, Robb. Sculpting a dream. New York: Crazy Horse Foundation, 2002.Hook, Jason. American Indian warrior chiefs. New York: Firebird, 1989.McMurtry, Larry. Crazy Horse, a penguin's life. New York: Penguin, 1999.