Having lost much of their land and way of life, some Lakotas turned to the Ghost Dance, a religion that promised a return to traditional ways. Sitting Bull wanted to taste more of his celebrity and so he headed east on the new Northern Pacific Railroad.His conversion into possibly becoming a Catholic makes a small headline in the Thus, he still wasn’t a Catholic in late 1883 according to the After four months on the road, selling autographs and acting for Buffalo Bill, Sitting Bull wanted to go back to Fort Yates and the Standing Rock Agency. He was a family man who lived with his two wives, children and grandchildren. And later, after Sitting Bull surrendered from Canada and then led a life as an autograph-seller, celebrity, and farmer on a shrunken reservation in Dakota Territory, it appears that even a bishop tried unsuccessfully to bring Chief Sitting Bull into the Catholic Church.Historical records show that many of the Sioux, Chief Sitting Bull among them, admired the “black robes” as they called the Catholic missionary priests. He would not give up his wives. He was considered by the Unkpapa to be both a medicine man and a chief.Father De Smet had possibly known Sitting Bull for 20 years by the time the two met near Fort Rice in 1868. When Sitting Bull’s first wife—Light Hair—died during childbirth, Sitting Bull was alone now and deeply affected. Sitting Bull did … And he sold his autograph for $2 to make some money (that translates into about $100 in today’s dollars).There was a Catholic Church in Bismarck, but there is no record that Sitting Bull attended services. The police used force on him. He was 37 years old by the time he encountered Father De Smet near present day Fort Rice, North Dakota to sign the Ft. Laramie Treaty of 1868. In 1885, after befriending Annie Oakley , he joined Buffalo Bill Cody 's Wild West Show. The 7th Cavalry's badly outnumbered troops lost ground quickly on two fronts and were forced to retreat. The following day January 10, 1917 William Cody reportedly died of kidney failure.Sitting Bull chose to return to the Standing Rock reservation and become a farmer in 1884. In 1885, after befriending Annie Oakley , he joined Buffalo Bill Cody 's Wild West Show. It is why today there are many vibrant Catholic communities on many Indian reservations across the Northern Plains.If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more great content just like it. Sitting Bull likely saw Bishop Marty during his time at Standing Rock as the bishop attended to the spiritual needs of Standing Rock, Bismarck, and the nearby military forts. Sitting married Pretty Door Aks Light Hair Bull in 1851, at age 26 at marriage place, North Dakota. He led attacks on Forts Buford and Stevenson and refused to sign the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, which created the Great Sioux Reservation. These were his companions until the end of his life.This continued to be the major stumbling block to Sitting Bull’s entry into the Catholic Church. Some of the most famous images you know of Sitting Bull came from the photo shoot that day in 1883. Wikipedia lists their names as Light Hair, Four Robes, Snow-on-Her, Seen-by-her-Nation and Scarlet Woman. After working as a performer with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing … He took an active role in encouraging this "unity camp". There are multiple accounts in 1868 of Father De Smet walking, alone, unarmed, into an armed Sioux camp of five thousand.
So Sitting Bull and the Unkpapa fled north to Canada to stay with some of the other bands of Sioux north of the border. On December 15, 1890 Lakota members of the Standing Rock Agency police force came to take him into “protective custody.” There was fear that Sitting Bull was going encourage the scattered bands of Sioux to join together for one great “Ghost Dance.” Sitting Bull, now 59 years old, demanded to know why he needed to be brought in.