Red Cloud was born in 1822 in Licholn Country, Nebraska. HIs mother's name is Walks-As-She-Thinks and his dad's name is Lone Man. They were both Sioux, but they started out in the Oglala band and the Brule. He was raised by his uncle, Chief Smoke, because his dad died when he was young. Some people say that his name was passed down from generation to generation. Others say that he got his name from way his warriors look like a red cloud or a scarlet blanket on the rolling hills. He was a very good horseman and later he became an adebt and brave hunter. Most of his early life was spent on war against other neighboring tribes. In 1841 he killed one of his uncle's rival tribes and that war divided the Oglala for the next 50 years. By the time that he was 20 he married a lady named Pretty Owl. He raised five children that includes only one son who later became a great warrior.
In an 1851 treaty, the Sioux agreed to have the US make roads and military posts on Indian land. In June 1865, the Sioux joined together with another tribe to take down a milatary post near the North Plate River. The war lasted from 1866 to 1868, the Treaty of Fort Laramie, the US abandoned all forts along the the Bozeman Trail. In 1871, Red Cloud was invited to the "Great Fathers' House in Washington", The White House, and he accepted for two reasons. First, he wanted to tell the president that his people did not want reservation life. Secondly, he wanted to see an Indian Commissioner, Ely S. Parker, to see if he was an actual Indian man. He brought 15 men with him to the American capital.
In 1874, General Custer led an army into the Sioux territory that reported gold in the Black Hills. That brought war to the northern plains, which would exentually mean the end of independent Indian nations. The Army were trying to keep minors out, but with little true effort. In the fall of 1877, the US troops surrounded Red Cloud and unarmed the tribe. They were then moved to a reservation and Chief Red Cloud was then known as a "reservation Indian." He continued to fight for his people even after were moxed to the reservation. Red Cloud died in 1909 at the age of 87 on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where he was buried. He stood as a symbol of strength to his people until his death and beyond.
I think that Red Cloud is a very brave, strong, and heroic warrior. He lead the Sioux tribe for a long time and he had a long and challenging life. The US army was really mean to the Sioux tribe and the tribe fought back.
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