Purchased from a collectable store that went out of business, this piece has been carefully checked, and is in perfect condition with the original box.
Interior: Oglala Sioux flag symbol
Discontinued ~ Limited Supply Available!
Red Cloud Hagiography
Chief of the Oglala Lakota - the largest band of the Sioux nation - Red Cloud was born in 1822 at the forks of the Platte River in modern-day Nebraska. He rose to prominence by his own force of character, having no hereditary claim to chiefship. By 1865, he was one of many Indian leaders who believed the US was breaking its treaty by establishing forts too far up the Bozeman Trail. Red Cloud had seen other tribes expelled from their land, and he was determined to resist. In June 1865, he joined a coalition of other Indian Nations to attack a military post on the North Platte River. Despite their successful campaign, the US Army continued to construct forts straight through Lakota territory, so in 1866, he initiated what has become known as Red Cloud’s War, the most successful war an Indian nation waged against the US military. He attained spectacular victories, resulting in a new treaty by which the US abandoned all forts on the Bozeman Trail and acknowledged Lakota possession of what is now the Western half of South Dakota, including the Black Hills, and much of Montana and Wyoming. But after gold was reported in the Black Hills, territory encroachments continued, and by 1877, Red Cloud’s people were forced to move to the Pine Ridge Reservation. He continued to fight for his people even after being forced onto the reservation. Red Cloud was the most famous and powerful chief in the history of his tribe and an important leader of the Lakota as they transitioned from the freedom of the plains to the confinement of the reservation system. He died in 1909 on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where he is buried.