Spotted Elk (Lakota language: Uŋpȟáŋ Glešká, sometimes spelled OH-PONG-GE-LE-SKAH or Hupah Glešká: 1826 – ) was a tribal chief of the Miniconjou. He was a son of Lone Horn and became a chief upon his father's death. He was a highly renowned chief with skills in war and negotiations. A United States Army soldier, at Fort Bennett, coined the nickname ( Si Tȟáŋka) – not to be confused with (also known as Ste Si Tȟáŋka and Chetan keah).[Michno, 303]
In 1890, he was killed by the U.S. Army at Creek, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Wazí Aháŋhaŋ Oyáŋke), South Dakota with at least 150 members of his tribe, in what became known as the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Name
The word
elk in
Spotted Elk's name is
uŋpȟáŋ in
Lakota language language and means elk-cow. There are 2 gendered terms for elk in Lakota language -
heȟáka - male/buck, with antlers, and
uŋpȟáŋ,
female, referred to as 'cow' in english. Newborn elk, like
deer are spotted as natural
camouflage, but spotted (
glešká) adult elk are not common,
and are referred to in English as
piebald.
Early life
Spotted Elk (
Lakota language:
Uŋpȟáŋ Glešká) was born about 1826, the son of
Lone Horn. His family belonged to the Miniconjou ("Planters by the River") subgroup of the Teton Lakota (Sioux). In 1877, Spotted Elk became the chief of his tribe upon his father's death at the age of 87.
Chief Spotted Elk
Skillful diplomat
As chief, Spotted Elk (who later became known by the name of "Big Foot" or
Sitȟáŋka), was considered a great man of peace. He was best known among his people for his political and
Diplomacy successes. He was skilled at settling mass quarrels and was often in great demand among other Teton bands.
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse alliance
During the 1870s, Spotted Elk and his brother Touch the Clouds (
Lakota language:
Maȟpíya Ičáȟtagya) allied their bands against the US Army, together with
Sitting Bull (
Lakota language:
Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake) and
Crazy Horse (
Lakota language:
Tȟašúŋke Witkó). Spotted Elk saw no major action during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77. However, his tribe – the
Miniconjou – suffered during the war, after which they surrendered.
Reservation placement
Following the
Sioux Wars, the government placed the Miniconjou on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, South Dakota. Spotted Elk encouraged adaptation to reservation life by way of developing sustainable agriculture and building schools for Lakota children. He was amongst the first American Indians to raise
maize in accordance with government standards. Spotted Elk also advocated a peaceful attitude toward white settlers.
Ghost Dance conversion and evangelism
New religious movement
Due to poor living conditions on the reservations, the Lakota struggled greatly to survive. In many cases, Indian agents were corrupt, undertaking fraud and stealing Lakota supplies/annuities. By 1889, they were in despair and looked for change.
The radical solution came in the form of the Ghost Dance movement, a new religion initiated by Wovoka. Spotted Elk and the Lakota became among the most enthusiastic believers in the "Ghost Dance" ceremony when it arrived among them in the spring of 1890. Although governmental reservation rules outlawed the practice of the religion, the movement swept like wildfire through the camps, and local Indian agents reacted with alarm. Some agents successfully suppressed the dancers, while others called for federal troops to restore order.
Chief Red Cloud offers refuge
After , when
Sitting Bull was killed on the Standing Rock Reservation, his followers fled for refuge at the camp of his former ally and half-brother, Chief Spotted Elk. Fearing arrest and government reprisals against his band, Spotted Elk led his band south to the Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, at the invitation of
Red Cloud (
Lakota language:
Maȟpíya Lúta). Red Cloud hoped that his fellow chief could help make peace. Seeking safety, flying a white flag and with no intention of fighting, Spotted Elk contracted
pneumonia on the journey to Pine Ridge.
Death at Wounded Knee Massacre
Peaceful surrender
On December 28, 1890,
Samuel Whitside's battalion of the 7th Cavalry intercepted the
Lakota people. Ill with pneumonia, Spotted Elk surrendered peacefully, with his band; the cavalry took them into custody, escorting them to a campsite near Wounded Knee Creek, Pine Ridge, where they were to set camp. The site was already established with a store and several log houses.
Wounded Knee Massacre
The night before the massacre, Col. James W. Forsyth arrived at Wounded Knee Creek and ordered his men to position four
Hotchkiss gun around the area in which the Lakota had been forced to camp.
On the morning of December 29, 1890, Forsyth's soldiers entered the camp and demanded that the Lakota give up their weapons. In the ensuing confrontation, a firearm was discharged. It was later believed to have been by a deaf man, Black Coyote, who presumably did not hear the command to put down his rifle. The US forces started shooting indiscriminately at the Lakota. They killed more than 250 people, mostly non-combatants (women and children), and Spotted Elk was among those killed.
Notes
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