Chiefs earned and maintained their authority through a combination of demonstrated courage in battle, generosity to their communities, skill in diplomatic negotiation, and the persuasive capacity to build and maintain consensus.

A leader who lost the confidence of his followers could find that confidence withdrawn.

A warrior who proved himself in multiple engagements and built a following through success and generosity could rise from relative obscurity to significant influence.

Red Cloud did exactly this.

By the 1860s, he was a recognized war leader among the Oglala, with a reputation built over decades of fighting — against neighboring nations, against Crow and Pawnee enemies, and increasingly against American intrusions into Lakota territory.

He was not, in 1866, the supreme chief of all the Lakota — no such figure existed — but he was one of the most influential leaders among the bands most directly affected by the Bozeman Trail question.