Theories are a funny thing

[deadwoodgultch]

There are many theories about the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Most are better known by the students of the battle. There is circumstantial evidence for most, but very little proven fact for them. I am of course speaking of the Custer portion of the battle. There were no white survivors to tell us what happened. On the Native American side, we have reticence for fear of reprisal, poor translation, agenda driven interviewers, and even coverups.

Here is one that I know a fair amount about the central figure. His name is John Grass(Charging Bear). He was educated(Carlisle Indian School). he wrote and read English, signed the 1868 Treaty, engineered the demise of over 100 Pawnee at the battle of Massacre Canyon, had a hand in the Little Bighorn Battle, became a Catholic. and started The White Horse Riders Aid Society at Standing Rock.

Was there really a sleeping village or was there a plan/ strategy in place? Take from this what you will or blast it full of holes. The Majority of what follows comes from extensive research by  Angela A. Green Boleyn and copyrighted by the South Dakota Historical Society.

The Teton-Sioux and Cheyenne were part of an Important date in American history when they wiped out Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the C,E,F,I, and L Companies of the Seventh Calvary on June 25, 1S76. Shrouded in mystery for120-years, the engagement has been vastly read and disputed. The time has come for the discrepancies to be brought to an end and tell the story from the Indian's point of view from the leader, Charging Bear, who was "the strategist of the Lakota and Cheyenne battle plan."

He had the distinction of being the first Sioux arrested following the battle.

To understand the carnage John Grass' strategy wrought that day, is to be aware of the power he was able draw from the people of both nations. Extracting the promise of life-time secrecy concerning their fore-knowledge of the three-pronged pincher of inarching cavalry soldiers with the plan to entrap the Indians.

In turn, the Indians were able to maneuver into place silently, knowing in advance where to meet the soldiers. As previously mentioned, John Grass was arrested and stood trial before a board of three Army officers for "acts hostile to the United States."  The Reno attack threw a minor curveball to this plan, it was quickly removed.

It is necessary to understand this great Indian leader and how he saw himself, how his People saw him. A humble man fighting for their home...the land on which they lived, land that gave them their food, shelter, a hard life...but a life of honor. His vision was one where his People would live in peace with the white man.

To the American historians, John Grass was the controversial figure who dominated the state of Teton-Sioux history from1868, when he signed his first treaty with the United States and made his first recorded speech, to his death in 1918. During that period he was termed by them "the last monumental Sioux Chieftain", "diplomat and statesman", "foremost strategist, red or white, of his time". Other terms that Charging Bear was described as were: "Peace Chief and Treaty Signer", "Premier of the Sioux Nation", "a man whose intelligence and ability would be concede anywhere", "the greatest living Indian", "a brave man but never a warrior".

It is also written that he was "chief advisor" to Sitting Bull,the acknowledged leader of the hostile Sioux... those who forcibly resisted the advance of the whites. That he (Charging Bear)assembled the warriors for the Battle of the Little Big Horn; that "he was in the battle, but in a minor role, and that the Sioux never had an over-all chieftain..." I find this statement unfounded as Charging Bear was the strategist, which I cannot see as being a minor role. He was in the battle giving the warriors their directions. It was the statement "a brave man but never a warrior"

It would do you well to delve into both white and Indian records, to learn more about this remarkable chief who had attained such a position among his people. If he had never known the warpath, it did not stand to reason why he gained the position that he had. It was contrary to everything I had known or read about the Sioux and their culture. For war see the Battle of Massacre Canyon.

There was secrecy surrounding John Grass and the Sihasapa tribe stemmed from his participation in the destruction of Custer and his soldiers. Following that affair, both John Grass1 importance and that of the Sihasapa's were deliberately played down by the Sioux for his protection. This I realized had led to many of the inaccuracies made by white recorders, among them the belief that the Sioux never had an over-all sovereign.

 There is vast historical data on John Grass preserved in The National Archives, The Smithsonian Institution, The Bureau of American Ethnology, The Library of Congress, The War Department and The Department of Indian Affairs, in Washington, District of Columbia; in the State Historical Societies of North andSouth Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri and Kansas; in public and private libraries; in old Indian agency records, letters, ration and census rolls and other seemingly endless minutiae in the Archives of Standing Rock Agency, Fort Yates, North Dakota; in the writings of early day historians, missionaries, Indian Agents, Army officers and other pioneer recorders. No other Indian has been more photographed and about no other Indian has there been so much speculation, conjecture, and misunderstanding.

A Brief History of the Descendants of Chief John Grass

1. Chief John Grass - Little Big Horn 1876

2. . .Thomas Grass - Scout for U.S. Army 1890 - 1900

3. Jim Grass - Scout for U.S. Army 1890 - 1900

4. John Grass - World War I. Member of the PersonalStaff Band

for General John J. Pershing Band

5. Albert Grass - World War I. Silver Decoration, U.S.Army

6. Duke Grass - World War I. Silver Decoration, U.S. Army

7. Evelyn Grass (Gabe) r World War II

8. Nueman Grass - World War II

9. {Conflicts) Levi Blunt - U.S. Army



10. Richard Grass - U.S.M.C.

11. Louis Grass - U.S.M.C.

12. Conrad Grass - U.S. Navy. Silver Star Decoration, Viet Nam

13. Duke Grass, Jr. - U.S.Army

14. DonaldGrass - U.S. Army

15. Nadine Grass - U.S. Army

16. Lynett Grass - U.S. Army

17. Richard Elk Boy - U.S. Army

18. Herman Elk Boy - U.S. Army

I am not making a statement of fact here just interesting conjecture. I gave Fred Wagner Charging Bull's name for his most recent "Participants" book, and he even came up whit more info on the man.

Steve , you have a friend researching the Sioux, and I have some new friends at Standing Rock maybe we should put them together. Hopefully we will get together in Bismarck next year, I will introduce you. There is also much remaining to the Cheyenne story, to wring out as well.

Regards,

Tom

Tom

[quincannon]

The Indian Industrial School at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania opened in 1879, following the model of Hampton Institute.

Presumably this John Grass/Charging Bull fellow was a mature adult in 1868 when he (signed??) the treaty of that year.

Eleven years later, the earliest date he could have entered Carlisle, he would have been a middle aged adult. at least in his high thirties, or early forties, that is unless he was a teen aged signer of the Treaty of 68, which would seem rather odd.

Based upon this, have you checked the register of attendees/graduates of Carlisle, before you accept what this Boylan woman has to say? Or, alternatively did you assume he attended Carlisle, just because he was educated?

[deadwoodgultch]

Nice try "Red Rover"(a game played primarily by children), I said that most of "The Majority of what follows comes from extensive research by Angela A. Green Boleyn and copyrighted by the South Dakota Historical Society." That citation comes from the South Dakota Historical Society, Wikipedia "John Grass attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he learned to read and speak English fluently", also cited by family. I never said when he attended the school. He utilized his knowledge of the English language on behalf of his people, when engaged in negotiations with the United States government. The negotiations I referred to was from the late 1870s until his death, Grass served as chief justice of the Court of Indian Offenses for the Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota. Together with his friend Hunkpapa warrior Gall, Grass advocated for formal education and agricultural lifestyles for his tribe as a means of survival. He fought the US government's efforts to take more Lakota lands, and in 1888 led a widespread resistance to Pratt Commission's attempt to break up the Great Sioux Reservation; however, the land was sold under the Crooks Commission's oversight in 1889. The US government failed to honor its treaty and statutory obligations, and in 1902 Grass led a delegation to Washington, DC to convey Lakota grievances to the federal government.

Here is some more for you to take issue with. Catholic mission records state that Grass, or Charging Bear, as he was known as a youngadult, was baptized when he was three by the peripatetic Jesuit Father Pierre-Jean De Smet.

Now why don't you prove any of the statements I have made wrong, or are you just popping off as usual. Get a life, bunky(definition in urban dictionary). If you find no interest you may simply ignore, paper pushing Col.

Regards,
Tom

PS he was 42 when the school officially opened. Did he spend time there, why don't you tell me.

[deadwoodgultch]

Oh, and by the way I prefaced my initial post with this "There are many theories about the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Most are better known by the students of the battle. There is circumstantial evidence for most, but very little proven fact for them. I am of course speaking of the Custer portion of the battle. There were no white survivors to tell us what happened. On the Native American side, we have reticence for fear of reprisal, poor translation, agenda driven interviewers, and even coverups."

Reading comprehension is everything, or so I hear. One must take all into account.

Regards,
Tom

[quincannon]

I am not trying to prove anything right or wrong. All I asked is if you had checked your sources

It would seem very odd to me that a middle aged (for that time) person, Indian or not, would be attending school during that period of his life, in those times. In those times is important.

I find it far more credible that he learned to read and write under Father De Smet.

So the question remains, did you check your sources?

[deadwoodgultch]

Would it seem odd to you to check out a school for your children, or the children of your tribe if they were forced to go there. He even cut his hair. There is much more even on pro boards American Tribes. There is also much here www.welchdakotapapers.com/2012/09/chief-john-grass-misc-information-angela-boleyns-letters-notes-and-references-from-fort-yates-documents/

Rather than me shoot down individual arguments, please read, if you desire. There is more, elsewhere.

Regards,
Tom

[quincannon]

Why would you think I am trying to shoot you down. I just asked a simple question, and a simple yes or no would be a more than sufficient answer.

I think a hair cut was a requirement for attendance, as well as suitable civilian, meaning not Indian, dress requirements. The whole idea of Carlisle, was just like the model, Hampton Institute, they closely followed, and that was the idea of complete integration into a Euro-centric society.

You might want to consider a couple of things:

1) If he signed the treaty of 1868, that is signed with a signature, he did not learn to read and write at Carlisle, but rather some other place or under someone else's instruction.

2) The Army War College Library at Carlisle is the absolute best place to find out anything about the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. They have all of the records in their possession, or at least they did the last time I was there.

[deadwoodgultch]

This information, all of it you can put your hands on, if gloved. You can get copies, but you can't make your own. Steve has met Karen, she is a family friend who used to be the librarian at the School of Mines in SD, she turned me on to a state librarian who was willing to set me up to see all materials, in various locations. I just do not have the time, so she turned me on to the above site, it does not have everything, but if you navigate around much can be found.

On another subject linked to the battle is a recap of an interview with Charlie Reynolds it goes like this. "During the winter of 1875-6, Reynolds was sent by General Custer to watch the movements of the Mandans, Gros Ventres and Aricarees, and particularly to keep an eye on the going and coming of Sioux spies from the hostile camps along the Yellowstone and the Big Horn mountain country. Early in the spring of 1876, General Custer tendered Reynolds the position of chief guide for the contemplated expedition to the upper branches of the Yellowstone. The object of this expedition was plainly set forth by the Secretary of the Interior which was to compel all Indians to move upon reservations set apart for them. Through Reynolds influence with Custer, the writer of these sketches was tendered the position of assistant guide and Reynolds visited the Turtle Valley Ranch where I was then stopping. Holding some regard for the just rights of the Indians in the premises, and fearing a repetition of Chivington's work at Sand creek, or of Baker's butchery of the Piegan small pox victims in Montana; or that of the General himself in the destruction of Black Kettle's camp of southern Cheyennes, the flattering offer was respectfully declined. In this interview at Turtle valley—which so far as we two were concerned was destined to be our last—he said while Custer and his officers were of the opinion, basing it upon the attitude of these Indians during the invasion of their hunting grounds about the Black Hills and the various taunting military reconnaissance made from time to time in the Sioux country, that these refractory Sioux under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse would not make much disturbance or resistance when confronted by the military power."

"Reynolds seemed of a different opinion. He had been making observations, he said, and he believed the Sioux would fight, and fight hard. He had noticed them quietly preparing for a long time supplying themselves with plenty of ammunition and the best of Winchester rifles, and every move they were making meant fight, and while he did not believe the Sioux had the dashing courage of a Cheyenne or the stubbornness of a Modoc, yet there was fight in them, and they would show it at the proper time. They expected to fight and he thought that summer would witness the greatest Indian battle ever fought upon this continent."

The writer of this recap was Joseph Henry Taylor

Regards,
Tom

[deadwoodgultch]

I have to revisit here before I move on. First of all my sole purpose for starting this thread was simply to point out that there all kinds of theories or variations of theories of floating around about this battle. I can say that Chuck's comment has to be right, De Smet had to have the initial bearing on Charging Bear/John Grass language skills, later combined with stints interacting with whites on reservations.

I looked for all I could find on John Grass previously, and also spoke to folks on the Cheyenne River Reservation, and later with a contact at Standing Rock. This contact who works for a Church group lead me to most of what I put up, along with the librarians. The sole mention of Carlisle was from Wikipedia. So I contacted the young lady at Standing Rock to find out what the deal was. She contacted current members of the Grass family for clarification. They function on "Indian Time" on the reservation so it took a while to get back to me. They have no knowledge of John Grass' connection to any of the Indian schools, other than maybe checking them out for the tribe, as many of the various tribal leaders did. However his children would have attended.

Anyway the original post was to be more about varied theories than one individual. I guess I found his story interesting so I attempted to share it.

Regards,
Tom