He was not yet a chief or a recognized political leader, but he was an active and skilled warrior whose reputation was growing during these years.

The relationship between Red Cloud and Crazy Horse was not simple.

They were both Oglala, but their approaches to American authority would diverge significantly in the years after 1868.

Red Cloud chose the political path — working within the reservation system, making his case through negotiation and advocacy.

Crazy Horse remained consistently committed to a strategy of non-cooperation with American authority and continued to live outside the reservation system until his surrender in 1877, shortly before his death.

The younger generation who fought in the Bozeman Trail conflict came away from it with specific lessons.