The period between Sitting Bull’s surrender in 1881 and his death in 1890 is often treated in popular accounts as an epilogue — a sad coda to the more dramatic story of the Little Bighorn and its aftermath.

That framing does justice neither to the man nor to the period.

Sitting Bull spent time between 1882 and 1883 at Fort Randall, South Dakota, under military confinement — essentially a prisoner, though the designation was never formally applied.

He was then moved to Standing Rock, where he spent the remaining years of his life.

The reservation was administered by James McLaughlin, an agent who had complex and often hostile feelings toward Sitting Bull and who worked consistently to undermine his influence within the community.

McLaughlin’s opposition to Sitting Bull was partly personal and partly ideological.