Little Hawk

For his nephew, see Little Hawk (Crazy Horse's brother).

For the Canadian musician, see Troy Westwood.

Little Hawk (Lakota: Čhetáŋ Čík’ala), (1836-1895), Oglala Lakota War Chief and a half brother of Worm, father of Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tashunka-witko). In the Lakota extended family scheme, Crazy Horse was thus a 'son' of Little Hawk.

Crazy Horse had a younger half-brother called Little Hawk as the namesake of their uncle. The elder Little Hawk took the name Long Face after bestowing his on his nephew, but when the half-brother was killed in battle in 1871, he resumed the use of his original name. This naming custom sometimes leads to confusion in attributing deeds to family members bearing the same name and living in the same time frame.

According to General George Crook notes, Little Hawk "..appeared to rank next to Crazy Horse in importance, was much like his superior in size and build, but his face was more kindly in expression and he more fluent in speech; he did most of the talking."

References

• Mari, Sandoz. Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas. Univ. of Nebraska Press.
• Clark, Robert. The killing of Chief Crazy Horse. Bison Books/Univ. of Nebraska Press.
• Bray, Kingsley M. "We Belong to the North": The Flights of the Northern Indians from the White River Agencies, 1877-1878. Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Summer 2005. [1]
• Price, Catherine. The Oglala People, 1841-1879: A Political History. Univ. of Nebraska Press.
• Bourke, John Gregory. On the Border with Crook
• Hardorff, Richard G. The Death of Crazy Horse: A Tragic Episode in Lakota History. Univ. of Nebraska Press.
• Cozzens, Peter, ed. Eyewitnesses to the Indian Wars. Stackpole Books.