Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Characters

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Character List

Christopher Columbus

Columbus was an Italian explores who in 1492 reached the American soil. He came into contact with different Indian tribes and he is the one attributed with giving the name Indians to the Native Americans. When he returned home, he took some Indians with him and he later made those Indians slaves in Spain.

Samoset

Samoset was an Indian tribe leader who helped the English settlers survive on the new continent. He made a deal with the English and he even gave them land on the new continent.

President Andrew Jackson

President Andrew Jackson was the tenth American president who ordered the Indians to relocate to other parts out the country and to leave the white settlers on their ancestral lands. The act passed by the president isolated the Indians from the rest of the world as it forbade the white settlers to have any type of contact with the Indian tribes.

Manuelito

Manuelito was a Navaho leader who signed a peace treaty with the USA in the 1850s. Soon after the treaty was signed, US soldiers began attacking the Navaho villages and Manuelito began leading men to raid US trains and settlements. When a second peace treaty was signed, forcing the Indians to relocate to Bosque Redondo, Manuelito refused to do it and took his men south, trying to survive while evading the US army. In the end, Manuelito and his men were forced to go to Bosque Redondo because they were close to starving after the US soldiers burn all their food supply.

Colonel Edward R. S. Canby

Colonel Edward R. S. Canby was the one who fought against Manuelito and who later forced him to retreat to Bosque Redondo. Colonel Edward R. S. Canby was known for using various immoral strategies to force the Indians to do what he wanted them to do.

General James Carleton

General James Carleton was the one who succeeded Colonel Edward R. S. Canby and who continued to force the Indian tribes to relocate. General James Carleton was the one responsible for relocating the Navaho tribe and who chose for them an inhabitable land. General James Carleton used violence to force the Indians to relocate, killing their livestock and even annihilating entire villages of Native Americans.

Kit Carson

Kit Carson was a lieutenant in General James Carleton’s army who was ordered to kill any Navahos who tried to oppose the relocation and who was found outside the reservation they were supposed to live on. Even though Kit Carson was married to an Indian woman, he still obeyed the command, killing countless Indians and slaughtering their animals.

B. Norton

A. B. Norton was the commander who was put in charge after Carleton was asked to leave. While Norton was not sympathetic towards the Indians either, he moved them form the reservation where Carleton forced them to go and gave them a land that was much more fertile and had clean water supplies. Through this move, Norton ensured the self-sufficiency of the Navaho tribe.

Little Cow

Little Cow was a Santee chief who signed different peace treaties with the USA. He eventually declared war against the USA when he had heard about the murdering of a few white men at the hand of a group of Santee men and was able to win a few victories before being forced to retreat to Canada to save his life. Little Cow eventually returned to America and was killed during a raid in Minnesota.

Thomas Galbraith

Thomas Galbraith was the government representative Little Cow talked with about receiving more resources for his men. Thomas Galbraith refused to allocate those resources, claiming that the Indians could all die and he would not care about their fate.

Colonel Henry H. Sibley

Colonel Henry H. Sibley was a fur trader on which Little Cow organized a raid on. Little Cow was unsuccessful and Colonel Henry H. Sibley and his men survived unscratched.

Wabasha

Wabasha was a warrior in Little Cow’s army who tried to side with Colonel Henry H. Sibley. Wabasha was tricked into believing that the Colonel will listen to him and Wabasha and the men who followed him were killed by Colonel Henry H. Sibley’s men.

President Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States who served during the Civil War and also during the massive relocations of the various Indian tribes living in the USA. Lincoln was against sentencing the Indians to death and militated that they should be instead imprisoned.

Wowinapa

Wowinapa was Little Cow’s son, capturing during the raid in which Little Cow was killed.

Medicine Bottle and Shakopee

Medicine Bottle and Shakopee were two of Little Cow’s followers captured after his death. The two were sentenced to death. Their death is important because it marks the end of the Santee resistance.

Newton Edwards

Newton Edwards was the governor in Dakota who in 1865 tried to convince various Indian tribes to sign treaties allowing him to build railroads on their territory.

Red Cloud

Red Cloud was a Sioux leader who signed different peace treaties with the USA. Because if this, he was disregarded by many men in his tribe who abandoned him to join other Indians they believed to be more direct.

Spotted Tail

Spotted Tail was the leader of the Brulé tribe who agreed to discuss a treaty with Colonel Maynadier. Spotted Tail argued that his men deserved to be compensated for the lost land but his demands were not listened.

Maynadier

Maynadier was the Colonel who negotiated both with Spotted Tail and with Red Cloud.

General Henry B. Carrington

General Henry B. Carrington came at fort Laramie after Maynadier and his presence made Red Cloud reconsider his decision to sign a peace treaty. Red Cloud fought against General Henry B. Carrington for a couple of months.

John Sanborn

John Sanborn was the commissioner sent to negotiate with Red Could after the Fetterman Massacre. He was however unsuccessful in contacting Red Cloud.

Little Wound and Pawnee Killer

Little Wound and Pawnee Killer the two ere Oglala chiefs who tried to negotiate with General George Armstrong Custer but with no success.

General George Armstrong Custer

General George Armstrong Custer was an important General who time and time again chose to disrespect the treaties signed by the Indian tribe leaders and who waged war against various Indian tribes in America. General George Armstrong Custer died during a battle lead by Crazy Horse.

Nathaniel Taylor

Nathaniel Taylor was a Native America commissioner who in 1867 meet with representatives from various Indian tribes to discuss about their complains and demands. He is among the only one who managed to meet with Red Cloud and who convinced him to sign a peace treaty with the US government.

Lean Bear

Lean Bear was an Indian chief who signed a peace treaty with the US Government. Even though he was considered an ally with the state, he was still shot when he was encountered by a group of US soldiers. His second in command, Black Kettle, tried to stop the troops from firing at the US soldiers but was unsuccessful.

Black Kettle

Black Kettle was the second in command in the tribe lead by Lean Bear. After Lean Bear was shot, Black Kettle tried to convince his men not to shoot into the US soldiers. Black Kettle signed a treaty through which he was forced to move his people from their home into a designated land given to them by the US Government.

William Bent

William Bent was the white man who advised Black Kettle to side with the white men and to avoid any confrontation with them. William Bent was a man who lived among the Indians and who even married an Indian woman.

George Bent

George Bent was William Bent’s son who sent letters to the US government offering an exchange of prisoners between the Indians and the white settlers.

John Evans

John Evans was the Colorado governor at the time when Lean Bear was killed.

Edward Wynkoop

Edward Wynkoop was a government official who sided with Black Kettle and who tried to resolve the tension between the US government and the Indian tribe. Edward Wynkoop was sympathetic with the Indian cause and tried to make the US government understand the situation in which the Indians found themselves.

Major Scott J. Anthony

Major Scott J. Anthony was the man sent to replace Edward Wynkoop when he became too sympathetic with the Indians. Major Scott J. Anthony was much crueler with the Indians than Edward Wynkoop and he was the one who forced the Arapahos to give up their ancestral lands. He was the one who directed the Sand Creek Massacre.

Charlie Bent

Charlie Ben was also William Bent’s son. After hearing about the Sand Creek Massacre, both Charlie and George left their old life behind and began living as Indians.

General Patrick E. Connor

General Patrick E. Connor was the general who ordered his men to hunt down the Northern Arapahos and to kill every male adult Indian they found. He continued to hunt for every Indians he could find, burning their villages and destroying all their food resources.

Black Bear

Black Bear was a Northern Arapahos leader who fled from General Patrick E. Connor.

Yellow Woman

Yellow Woman was William Bent’s wife, killed at Connor’s fort by mercenaries hired by General Connor.

Sitting Bull

Sitting Bull was the chief of the Teton Sioux tribe known for fighting against the US soldiers. Sitting Bull was feared by the US soldiers because he managed to lead some successful raids against the US soldiers.

Roman Nose

Roman Nose was a Cheyenne chief who was joined by Sitting Bull in his attempt to fight against the US soldiers. Helped by Sitting Bull, Normal Rose was able to carry a successful attack on the US soldiers.

General Winfield Scott Hancock

General Winfield Scott Hancock was the one who negotiated with Roman Nose after he began his war against the US government.

Yellow Bear

Yellow Bear was among the Indians who went to For Cobb in search of protection. He was turned down by General Sheridan.

Tall Bull

Tall Bull was a Cheyenne leader who after all his tribe was slaughtered tried to fight back by attacking US convoys. Tall Bull was eventually killed during a battle.

Mangas Colorado

Mangas was Cochise’s father in law. After ten years of fighting, Mangas turned himself in and was tortured and killed by the US soldiers.

Lone Wolf

Lone Wolf was a Kiowa chief who signed a peace treaty with the US government and was later moved to a reservation. He and his people became farmers for the rest of their lives.

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