Grant Short Bull facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grant Short Bull
Tȟatȟáŋka Ptéčela
Short Bull (top row, 4th from left) at meeting with US officials, Pine Ridge Reservation, 1891
Soreback Band, Oglala Lakota leader
Personal details
Born	ca. 1851
Died	August 20, 1935
Spouse	Good Hawk (later known as Matilda or Nellie Short Bull)
Children	Charlie Short Bull, b. 1884, Katie, b. ca. 1893-95
Parents	Black Rock and Scatter the Feather
Known for	Participant in the Battle of the Little Bighorn

Grant Short Bull (whose Lakota name was Tȟatȟáŋka Ptéčela) lived from about 1851 to 1935. He was a member of the Oglala Lakota people, specifically from the Soreback Band. Grant Short Bull took part in the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn. Later in his life, he became an important leader, or headman, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Early Life of Grant Short Bull

Grant Short Bull was born around 1851 or 1852. His birthplace was near Fort Laramie. His father was Black Rock, a minor Oglala leader. His mother was named Scatter the Feather.

Grant Short Bull was the younger brother of a well-known Oglala leader named He Dog. Both brothers belonged to a family group called the Cankahuhan, also known as the Soreback Band. This group preferred to live traditionally. They tried to stay away from the government agencies for as long as they could.

The Great Sioux War of 1876-77

In January 1876, Grant Short Bull was with the Soreback Band. They were on the Tongue River when the government gave an order to the northern Lakota groups. The government wanted them to move to agencies. Short Bull later remembered that his group agreed to go to the Red Cloud Agency in Nebraska.

The Soreback Band soon joined a village of Northern Cheyenne people. This village was on the Powder River. One day, Short Bull was away from the village on a hunting trip. While he was gone, soldiers attacked the village. General George Crook's troops, led by Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds, carried out the attack.

Short Bull returned in time to help get back some of the village's horses. He explained that this attack changed everything. "If it had not been for that attack by Crook on Powder River," he said, "we would have come in to the agency that spring, and there would have been no Sioux war."

Grant Short Bull fought in two major battles during this time. He was at the Battle of the Rosebud. He also took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Surrender and Life in Canada

The Soreback Band, including Short Bull and He Dog, surrendered with Crazy Horse. This happened at the Red Cloud Agency on May 6, 1877. That fall, Short Bull worked as an Indian scout for the army.

However, he soon left with other northern groups. They fled the agency and crossed the border into Canada. They joined Sitting Bull there. Short Bull and his family lived in Canada for the next three years.

In 1880-81, Short Bull surrendered with other Oglala at Fort Keogh. He was then moved to the Standing Rock Agency in the summer of 1881. In May 1882, he and other Soreback Band members moved to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. They settled near the White River.

Grant Short Bull's Family Life

Grant Short Bull married a woman named Good Hawk around 1875. After they moved to the reservation, she became known as Matilda or Nellie Short Bull. Grant became known as Grant Short Bull.

They had two children who grew up. Their son, Charlie Short Bull, was born in 1884. Their daughter, Katie, was born around 1893-95. Katie later married a man named Arthur Blue Horse Owner.

Later Years and Legacy

Grant Short Bull lived the rest of his life on the Pine Ridge Reservation. He and his wife received a piece of land there. They were remarried in the Presbyterian Church on December 28, 1911. Matilda passed away on May 20, 1925.

Grant often visited the Agate Ranch in northwestern Nebraska. This ranch was the home of a frontiersman named James Cook. In 1934, Short Bull was among the older Oglala leaders who attended a special event. They dedicated a marker for Crazy Horse at Fort Robinson.

Sadly, Grant Short Bull and his son Charlie died in a car accident. This happened north of Oglala, South Dakota, on August 20, 1935. They were on their way to a memorial dinner. Because of this tragedy, much of their family's oral history was lost. Grant's daughter, Kate Blue Horse Owner, was also hurt in the accident. She and her husband, Arthur Blue Horse Owner, later took care of Charlie's children, Eugene and Kerman.

Artist Arthur Short Bull is a great-grandson of Grant Short Bull.