Chief Joseph Black Horn, a minor band chief of the oglala Sioux, fought under Crazy Horse at the Battle of Little Big Horn at age 15. In the action against Custer’s command he captured two cavalry horses. In 1890, when he attempted to visit relative at Wounded Knee, he was fired upon by white troops and driven from friendship with whites to siding with the Ghost Dancers. He narrowly missed death at the Massacre of Wounded Knee, which he witnessed from a distant hill.
“One year (1927) the grandfather (President Calvin Coolidge) came from Washington to visit the Black Hills. I was honored to be asked to be part of the Sioux delegation that met him and named him honorary chief.” – Pine Ridge Indian Reservation 1937.
