Audio Excerpt

We’re currently about an hour North of Wood Mountain, which is funny enough neither a mountain or made of wood.  The town’s name comes from the Red River Metis who called it “Montagne de Bois”, which translates to mountain of wood in French.  The name refers to an abundance of Poplar trees surrounded by the otherwise barren landscape. Today, Wood Mountain is a peaceful serene area, but back in the day… it was anything but peaceful! Wood Mountain was actually one of the most politically volatile places in North America! 

 

After the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, Sitting Bull and 5000 of his Sioux followers took refuge from the U.S. Army at Wood Mountain.  Wait a second.. that can’t be right.. Sitting Bull? How can a bull be useful if it’s sitting.. And how does a bull have followers? I didn’t even know they had Instagram back then! I don’t get it… what is a ‘sitting bull’? So was Sitting Bull,..

 

A) a great Sioux warrior 

B) a Sioux medicine man, or 

C) a statue of a sitting bull praised by the Sioux?

 

The answer is B, Sitting Bull was a shaman, or medicine man! The Battle of Little Bighorn was the most significant battle in the Great Sioux War.  The clash was an overwhelming victory for the combined forces of the Sioux, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army.  The victors were led by their fearless warriors Crazy Horse and Chief Gall and inspired by visions of the great Shaman, Sitting Bull.