The account that Crazy Horse refused to be photographed — that he regarded photography as a taking of his spirit, and consistently declined to be photographed — is one of the most frequently cited elements of his legend.

The historical status of this account is uncertain.

It may be accurate: there are no confirmed photographs of Crazy Horse, and various photographs have been proposed and disputed over the years.

The absence of confirmed photographs is consistent with an active refusal to be photographed.

It may also be partly legendary: a detail added to his story that captures something true about his character without being precisely historical.

What the account, true or not, captures is a quality of Crazy Horse that multiple contemporary sources describe: his resistance to the kinds of external possession that photography represented in the cultural understanding of the period.