The collaboration also produced the scale of the gathering: an encampment of perhaps 7,000 to 10,000 people, including perhaps 2,000 warriors, which was the largest gathering of Plains Indians in the historical record.

The size of the gathering reflected the depth of the anger and the desperation that had built across the preceding decade.

The Surrender Of Sitting Bull And Its Context

Sitting Bull’s decision to lead his followers into Canada after the Little Bighorn — and his eventual return and surrender in 1881 — provides a contrasting timeline to Crazy Horse’s surrender in 1877.

While Crazy Horse surrendered at Fort Robinson in May 1877, Sitting Bull remained in Canada until 1881.