Red Cloud Agency

The Red Cloud Agency was an Indian agency for the Oglala Lakota as well as the Northern Cheyenne and Northern Arapaho, existing from 1871 to 1878.

Red Cloud Agency No. 1 (1871-1873)

As stipulated in the Fort Laramie Treaty (1868), Indian agencies were constructed for the various Lakota tribes, forerunners to the modern Indian reservations. For the Oglala Lakota, the Red Cloud Agency was established in 1871 on the Platte River in Wyoming Territory. The location was one mile west of the present town of Henry, Nebraska.

Red Cloud Agency No. 2 (1873-1877)

In August 1873, the agency was moved to northwestern Nebraska near the present town of Crawford. Constructed on a hill over looking the White River, the agency buildings included a large warehouse, offices, home for the agent, blacksmith shop and stables. A school house was later added. Two Indian trading stores were also built adjacent to the agency.

Following the killing of the agency clerk, Frank Appleton, troops were brought to the agency in March 1874. The military encampment was named Camp Robinson (later known as Fort Robinson).

The Red Cloud Agency was the center of much activity during the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, culminating in the surrender of Crazy Horse in May 1877. Following the killing of Crazy Horse, the agency was removed to the Missouri River in October 1877.

The site of Red Cloud Agency No. 2 is included in Fort Robinson and Red Cloud Agency, a United States National Historic Landmark.

Red Cloud Agency No. 3 (1877-1878)

The agency was moved to the Missouri River in October 1877.

Pine Ridge Agency

In 1878, the Red Cloud Agency was relocated to southern South Dakota and renamed the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Indian Agents

*James Wham
*Jared Daniels
*Dr. John J. Saville, a physician from Sioux City Iowa, arrived as agent in the fall of 1873. During his administration, the army established a post nearby and the first treaty negotiations for the Black Hills was held. Accused of graft, he resigned as agent in late 1875 following a commission that cleared him of wrong doing.
*James S. Hastings
*Lieut. Charles A. Johnson
*Dr. James Irwin

For More Information

* George E. Hyde, "Red Cloud's Folk: A History of the Oglala Sioux Indians" (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1937).
* James C. Olson, "Red Cloud and the Sioux Pr"oblem (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1965).
* Catherine Price, "The Oglala People, 1841-1879: A Political History" (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1996).
* Roger T. Grange, Jr, "Fort Robinson Outpost on the Plains", Reprinted from Nebraska History, Volume 39, No.3, September 1958.
* Mari Sandoz, "Crazy Horse The Strange Man of the Oglalas", (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1961).