One Bull, sometimes given as Lone Bull (; –1947), later known as Henry Oscar One Bull, was a

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

man best known for being the nephew and adopted son of

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...

. He fought at

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Si ...

and, in his later years, provided interviews about his life as a warrior.

Early life

His mother was Sitting Bull's sister Good Feather; his father was Makes Room and his brother was White Bull. One Bull was adopted by Sitting Bull in 1857 at the age of four. One Bull recalled that Sitting Bull gave him a pinto pony when he was about six years old; One Bull named the pony ''Itanchan'', or Chief. He treated the horse well, never whipping or otherwise abusing the pony, which became the "swiftest runner in the camp, the envy of all and the object of many rejected offers of purchase".

Life as a warrior

One Bull was a

Heyoka The heyoka (, also spelled "haokah," "heyokha") is a type of sacred clown Shamanism, shaman in the culture of the Sioux (Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota people, Dakota people) of the Great Plains of North America. The heyoka is a contrarian, jest ...

, one who had dreamed of thunderbirds. One Bull participated in

in 1876. He arrived with his horse and Sitting Bull's. He rode his mother to safety and then joined the fight. Sitting Bull told him, "Fear nothing. Go straight in". One Bull recounted having killed several fleeing troopers in the battle. He wore his uncle's shield during the Battle of Little Bighorn. One Bull joined his uncle in fleeing to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

following the

in 1876. In subsequent years, he was highly regarded amongst the Plains Indians for his rescuing of a warrior named Good Bear Boy. Sitting Bull's band remained in the "Grandmother's Country" until he surrendered in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

in 1881. One Bull stood by Sitting Bull at his surrender. He later contradicted the narrative that Sitting Bull had said at his surrender: "Let it be recorded that I was the last man of my people to lay down my gun." One Bull reported that Sitting Bull was silent. One Bull, who had been away hauling freight north of

Fort Yates Fort Yates is a city in Sioux County, North Dakota, United States. It is the tribal headquarters of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and county seat of Sioux County. Since 1970 the population has declined markedly from more than 1,100 residents, a ...

, had returned the night before the massacre of Sitting Bull. His wife, Red Whirlwind, who was pregnant, had been sleeping in Sitting Bull's cabin. When One Bull heard the shots, he rushed to the cabin and got his wife to safety, who had escaped the gunfire, only returning to Sitting Bull's home after the troops had gone.

Later life

Following the death of Sitting Bull, One Bull reported that all of his personal household goods and some of his horses were taken. One Bull is listed as living in 1929 at the

Standing Rock Agency The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota controls the Standing Rock Reservation (), which straddles the border between North Dakota, North and South Dakota in the United States, and is inhabited by ethnic "Hunkpapa Lakota, Hunkp ...

, where he was prominent in tribal matters. One Bull participated in interviews about his experiences with Sitting Bull, as did his brother White Bull, a famous Lakota warrior and chief contributor to Stanley Vestal's biography of their uncle.

Depiction in media

One Bull was portrayed by Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse in the television miniseries ''

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West'' is a 1970 non-fiction book by American writer Dee Brown. It explores the history of American expansionism in the American West in the late nineteenth century and its de ...

'' (2007).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:One Bull Miniconjou people 1850s births 1947 deaths