You’ve probably heard the names of prominent figures in the history of the United States — Washington, Adams, Grant, Sherman and others. However, there is another side to North American history, less known, but also replete with heroes.
Mexican and French America, black and yellow have their own pantheon. Today we will talk about Native Americans and the leaders of their peoples.
Tecumseh
He was a military leader of the Shawnee people. Born in the Ohio River Valley in 1769. From the age of 20, together with his older brother, he began to undertake raids on border settlements in the states of Tennessee and Kentucky. Having suffered a series of sensitive defeats, he decided to act on his own: he went to Indiana, gathered a group of Indian youth and quickly became a respected field leader. And the younger brother suddenly began to receive visions and turned into a prophet, somehow managing to predict a solar eclipse (probably, one of the whites, who was no stranger to astronomy, told him).
The visionary gift was put to the service of the needs of defense: prophecies of imminent glory were made, forcing a number of tribes to unite in Tippecanoe , also known as Propet’s Town .
It is not known how far things would have gone, but in 1810, taking advantage of the departure of the leaders to recruit new soldiers, Brigadier General of the United States Army William Henry Harrison attacked the settlement of the Indian coalition, massacring most of the inhabitants.
In response, Tecumseh supported England in the outbreak of the War of 1812, but the warrior’s luck betrayed him — he fell in the Battle of the Thames on October 5, 1813. After his death, the Americans paid tribute to the outstanding Indian, highly appreciating his oratorical talent and abilities as an organizer and diplomat.
Geronimo
According to a number of researchers, the most famous Indian leader. He led the Bedonkow tribe in Chiricahua, one of the Apache tribes. Born in June 1829. He became a man early — before he was 18 he managed to carry out four independent raids, and he ate the first heart of the pale-faced man (or rather, not really — the Mexicans were Geronimo’s enemies) soon after he was 14.
The leader’s wife and three children were killed by soldiers of the Mexican army, which resulted in a series of raids on lands in New Mexico and Arizona. In 1848, after losing the war, the government of the United Mexican States ceded the tribe’s lands to its northern neighbor under the Treaty of Guadalupe-Guidalgo.
Conflicts with Mexican settlers gave way to clashes with Tejanos and settlers from the East Coast, as well as nomadic tribes of Indians allied with the United States who received pastures here. Years of struggle resulted in Bedonkow’s eviction to the ethereal deserts of Arizona.
Almost unsuitable for life for a sedentary, agricultural people, the lands were densely strewn with Indian bones. When it became clear that it was impossible to live like this any longer, Geronimo rebelled and for 12 long years tormented the federal army and the local population with desperate raids.
Crazy horse
A warrior with a fearsome reputation and chief of the Oglala Sioux tribe, Crazy Horse was born around 1840 in South Dakota. His youth occurred during a period of difficult relations between the Sioux people and the government. In the fall of 1854, Sioux Chief War Bear was killed by a white soldier. The Indians responded by killing a 30-man force and killing an army lieutenant.
The young Indian proved himself to be a talented guerrilla, annoying enemy soldiers with frequent raids. Horse’s most famous battle was at the Little Big Horn, where the desperate Sioux managed to almost completely slaughter Custer’s detachment. Unable to achieve victory on the battlefield, the government resorted to scorched earth tactics and forced the enemy to surrender. While in captivity, the Indian was killed with a bayonet in the back. According to the official version, he tried to escape from captivity.
Chief Seattle
Born in 1790, Seattle, due to his origin, led two tribes at once (his father was the leader of one, and his maternal grandfather was the leader of the other). He lived in the territory of modern Washington State, the tribe’s lands were located along Paget Sound.
Initially, he greeted the settlers very warmly and allocated them land in Eliot Bay, but constant disagreements with other tribes provoked an attack on the colony and a massacre. Faced with reality, the leader realized that the influx of colonists would lead to the loss of his tribe’s land holdings. He realized that he could not withstand such a force alone, and tried to resolve differences peacefully.
Contemporaries know Seattle’s name in the context of the green movement: there is an apocryphal text attributed to the famous Native American. A falsification for unclear purposes was written by one Dr. Henry Adam Smith in 1888.
Kochiso
Absolutely nothing is known about the childhood of the greatest of the Apaches — not even his date of birth. Tall for his time — a classic six feet — he was an imposing figure, rallying the militant members of his people and leading them in raids against both Mexico and the United States.
The conflict with the latter ultimately led to his death.
Here is how it was. In 1961, other non-Cochisaw Apaches kidnapped a white child, and an inexperienced but zealous US Army officer sent from Washington accused the peaceful tribe of this crime. An attempt to arrest the alleged culprit resulted in a shot in the back and an escalation of violence. The Apaches were saved from massacre by the Civil War, but after its end the federals returned armed to the teeth and began to systematically destroy the Indians, tribe by tribe.
The war was merciless, and the Yankees eventually promised Cochiseaw a large portion of Arizona as a reservation. He agreed, and the legends brought to us the following answer from the glorious leader:
“The white man and the Indian should drink the same water, eat the same bread and live in harmony and peace.”
Sitting Bull
Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Lakota tribe is revered as a saint. Born in 1831, he became a warrior at an early age, making his first raid at the age of 14. The first serious battle occurred in 1863 with soldiers of the Kentucky Regiment, and by 1868 he became the main leader of the tribe.
Full-scale hostilities began in 1874 when gold was discovered in the Lakota sacred Black Hills of South Dakota.
Lakota warriors led by Bull fought alongside Horse at Little Big Horn. After the defeat, the remaining warriors fled to Canada, signed a peace treaty with the administration in 1881 and agreed to settle on the reservation. And Sitting Bull was shot and killed during a shootout between the police and supporters of the tribe’s independence.
Mangas-Coloradas
One of the most influential Native American leaders of the 19th century was the father-in-law of Cochiseaw and the Apache. Born in the 90s of the 18th century, he was tall and strong and became a leader after the death of his predecessor in 1837.
The Mexican leadership then gave rewards for the scalps of the Indians, and the headhunters made good money. Mangas-Coloradas proclaimed that he would take revenge — and massacred the entire population of the town of Santa Rita.
With the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1848, Mangas-Coloradas considered the Yankees the saviors of his people and hastened to conclude an agreement with them in order to bind them into allied relations with the American army. For fifteen years everything was fine until silver was discovered in the region. Then they put the parting on the treaty, and the leader himself was treacherously killed in 1863, sending assassins to him under a flag of truce. The body was chopped up to make identification difficult.
Der Friedensstifter 