Crazy Horse
One does not sell the earth upon which the people walk.
Last Words of Crazy Horse in 1877
“We had buffalo for food, and their hides for clothing and for our teepees. We preferred hunting to a life of idleness on the reservation where we were driven against our will. At times we did not get enough to eat, and we were not allowed to leave the reservation to hunt.
We preferred our own way of
living. We were no expense to the
government. All we wanted was peace
and to be left alone. Soldiers were
sent out in the winter, who destroyed our villages.
Then long hair (Custer) came in
the same way. They say we massacred
him, but he would have done the same thing to us had we not defended ourselves
and fought to the last. Our first
impulse was to escape with our squaws and papooses, but we were so hemmed in
that we had to fight.”
“The white man made many
promises to the Indians. Of all
these he kept but one. He promised
to take our lands and to kill us. That
promise he kept.”
--Tashunka
Witko (Crazy
Horse)
