Crazy Horse: Early Years

Crazy Horse was born in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1841, the son of the Oglala Sioux shaman also named Crazy Horse and his wife, a member of the Brule Sioux.

Crazy Horse had lighter complexion and hair than others in his tribe, with prodigious curls. Boys were traditionally not permanently named until they had an experience that earned them a name, so Crazy Horse was called “Curly Hair” and “Light-Haired Boy” as a child.

As an adolescent, Crazy Horse earned the name “His Horse Looking,” but he was more commonly known as “Curly” until 1858 when, following a battle with Arapaho warriors he was given his father’s name, while his father took the name Worm.

READ MORE: Native American History Timeline

Crazy Horse's Vision Quest

Crazy Horsewas not a traditionalist with regard to his tribe’s customs, shrugging off many of the traditions and rituals that the Sioux practiced.

In 1854, Crazy Horse rode off into the prairies for a vision quest, purposefully ignoring the required rituals.

Fasting for two days, Crazy Horse had a vision of an unadorned horseman who directed him to present himself in the same way, with no more than one feather and never a war bonnet. He was also told to toss dust over his horse before entering battle and to place a stone behind his ear and directed to never take anything for himself.

Crazy Horse followed these instructions until his death.

General William Tecumseh Sherman

In 1866, the discovery of gold along the Bozeman Trail in Montana spurred General William Tecumseh Sherman to