"This war did not spring up on our land, this war was brought upon us by the children of the Great Father who came to take our land without a price, and who, in our land, do a great many evil things... This war has come from robbery - from the stealing of our land."

Spotted Tail, the Brule Wicasa, was once a mighty warrior and participated in the Grattan Massacre, the battle which began the first Sioux War of 1854. He turned himself in when the battle provoked reprisals and was held for a year in Fort Leavenworth. While imprisoned, Spotted Tail learned to read and write English, acquiring useful skills in dealing with whites when he became chief.

His incarceration was also important in another way. It permitted him to observe the overwhelming power of the whites in numbers and technology, and brought the realization that, in order to survive, diplomacy had to take precedence over armed conflict whenever possible. Spotted Tail returned a hero, for he had offered himself in sacrifice for his people.

Spotted Tail holds the unpopular view that the white man's incursion into Sioux Lands is inevitable. He's one of the strongest voices for peace and has made several trips to Washington to secure rights for his people. Some of the other Wicasas suspect him of taking bribes from the white man while on his travels, charges which he denies (though it's an open secret that his commitment to the Old Ways is weaker than that of his peers).