Sitting Bull

An inspiring picture book biography of the Lakota/Sioux warrior and chief Sitting Bull, from award-winning author and illustrator S. D. Nelson

Sitting Bull (c. 1831–1890) was one of the greatest Lakota/Sioux warriors and chiefs who ever lived. He was eventually named war chief, leader of the entire Sioux nation—a title never before bestowed on anyone. As a leader, Sitting Bull resisted the United States government’s attempt to move the Lakota/Sioux to reservations for more than 25 years.

From Sitting Bull’s childhood—killing his first buffalo at age 10—to being named war chief, to leading his people against the US Army, and to his surrender, Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People brings the story of the great chief to light. Sitting Bull was instrumental in the war against the invasive wasichus (White Man) and was at the forefront of the combat, including the battles of Killdeer Mountain and Little Bighorn. He and Crazy Horse were the last Lakota/Sioux to surrender their people to the US government and resort to living on a reservation.

Award-winning author and member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe S. D. Nelson intersperses archival images with his own artwork, inspired by the ledger-art drawings of the 19th-century Lakota. Through the art and riveting story, Nelson conveys how Sitting Bull clung to his belief that the Lakota were a free people meant to live, hunt, and die on the Great Plains.