Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota warrior, was born around 1840 and died September, 1877.

Thasunka Witko, which means "His Horse is Crazy" was a beloved and respected leader. Although he died early in life, he accomplished much for his people and in battle he fought for the Lakota way of life and the survival of his People.

There are differing sources on the precise year of Crazy Horse's birth, but all seem to agree that he was born between 1840 and 1845. Crazy Horse's own father had given probably the most accurate and credible information when on the evening of his son's death, the elderly man told Lieutenant H. R. Lemly that his son "would soon have been thirty-seven, having been born on the South Cheyenne river in the fall of 1840."

Crazy Horse was born with the name In The Wilderness (Cha-O-Ha is the phonetic spelling of this name), which means he was one with Nature. Being in Harmony and Balance with Nature was part of the Lakota way of life. His nickname was 'Light Hair'. He had the same light, curly hair as his mother.

Crazy Horse's father, a Lakota who was also called Crazy Horse, who was born in 1810, passed the name to his son, taking the new name of "Worm" for himself thereafter. The mother of the younger Crazy Horse was "Rattling Blanket Woman", also Lakota. She was born in 1814. Rattling Blanket Woman was the daughter of Black Buffalo and White Cow. Black Buffalo is the one who stopped Lewis and Clark on the Bad River.

In the summer of 1844, Waglula (Worm) went on a buffalo hunt. He came across a Lakota village under attack by Crow warriors. He led his small contingent in and rescued the village. Corn, who was the head man of the village, gave Waglula his two eldest daughters Iron Between Horns (age 18) and Kills Enemy (age 17) as wives in gratitude for saving their lives. Corn's youngest daughter, Red Leggins, who was 15 at the time requested to go with her sisters and all would become Waglula's wives.

When Waglula got back to his village and his wife, Rattling Blanket Woman, found out about his new wives she became distraught. She and Waglula had been attempting to conceive another child, but had failed. The arrival of the new wives made her think she had lost favor with Waglula because she could not give him more sons. She became so distraught, whe left and hanged herself from a cottonwood tree. Waglula mourned her death for four years and did not touch his other wives during that time.

Rattling Blanket Woman's sister, Good Looking Woman raised Crazy Horse after the death of her sister when Waglula relented and allowed her to do so. Later, Crazy Horse's other aunt, They Are Afraid of Her, helped in the raising of Crazy Horse. She helped teach him to hunt and take care of himself.

Crazy Horse is probably best known for his involvement in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June of 1876, when Lakota and Northern Cheyenne alliance defeated General Custer and the 7th Calvary of the United States in the eastern Montana Territory. This battle was the most famous of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, and was a tremendous victory for the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. Sitting Bull was the warrior who led the combined force of Indians. This was the battle where Custer lost his life, along with five of the Seventh's companies.

A handful of Indian sharpshooters that prevented Custer from crossing the Minnecounjou Ford were joined by Crazy Horse and his band of warriors who drove Custer and his force up on a ridge line. Then Crazy Horse and White Bull suddenly charged with their band through an opening between two of the companies, cutting the troopers' defensive position in half. In less than an hour, Custer and his soldiers were annihilated. The Lakota asserted that Crazy Horse personally led one of the large groups of warriors that eventually overwhelmed the cavalrymen in a surprise charge from the northeast, causing a breakdown in the command structure and panic among the troops.

Crazy Horse lived in the Lakota camp with his younger brother, High Horse and his cousin, Little Hawk. The camp was attacked by Lt. Grattan and 28 other troopers during the Grattan massacre and the Lakota leader, Conquering Bear, was killed. It was after this that Crazy Horse began to receive trance visions. Waglula took him to what today is Sylvan Lake, South Dakota, where they both sat for hemblecha (vision quest). A red-tailed hawk led them to their respective spots in the hills.

Crazy Horse's vision first took him to the South, where in Lakota spirituality you go when you die. He was brought back and was taken to the west in the direction of the wakiyans (thunder beings), and was given a medicine bundle which contained medicines that would protect him for life. One of his animal protectors would be the white owl, which according to Lakota spirituality would give extended life. He was also shown his face paint, which was a yellow lightning bolt down the left side of his face, and white powder, which he would wet and with three fingers put marks over his vulnerable areas that when dried resembled hailstones. Crazy Horse was also given a sacred song that is still sung today, and was told he would be a protector of his people.

Crazy Horse also received a black stone from a medicine man named Horn Chips to protect his horse, a black and white paint he had named Inyan which means rock or stone. He placed the stone behind the horse's ear, so that the medicine he received from his vision quest and the medicine that Horn Chips had given him would combine to make his horse and himself be as one in battle.

Crazy Horse fought many battles for his People. When he surrendered in May of 1877 he had promised to stop fighting against the whites. He was killed while under guard when a soldier stabbed him to death on September 5, 1877. Crazy Horse's body was taken to his family the morning after he died . His father and family moved his body to a location that remains unknown to this day, but somewhere where he has found peace with his ancestors.
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