Little Hawk
| Little Hawk | |
|---|---|
| Čhetáŋ Čík’ala | |
| Oglala Lakota leader | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1836 |
| Died | 1899 |
| Spouse(s) | Sunk ska win, White Horse Woman (possibly his second wife) |
| Relations | Half-brother of Worm |
Little Hawk (Lakota: Čhetáŋ Čík’ala) (1836–1899) was an Oglala Lakota war chief and a half-brother of Worm, father of Crazy Horse (Lakota: Tashunka-witko).
Little Hawk was born about 1836. His father was the holy man variously called Makes the Song or Crazy Horse I. Makes The Song was also the father of Worm (Crazy Horse II), who became the father of the famous Crazy Horse 3. Little Hawk was born to a different mother from Worm; her name was Good Haired Otter. In the Lakota extended family scheme, Crazy Horse was thus a son of Little Hawk.
His wife in the census records is always listed as Sunk-ska-win White Horse Woman (sometimes by misreading as 'White House'). In the Pine Ridge Agency allotment records she is noted as a sister of Iron Hawk. White Horse Woman stated that she was married to Little Hawk for thirty years before his death, which indicates that she was probably not the mother of Little Hawk's children born before 1870, which would be Made an Enemy, Hard to Kill, Yellow Wolf, and Iron Tail. White Horse was the mother of Little Hawk's children born after 1870 – including Chase in Morning, Many Cartridges, and Luke Little Hawk (also known as Hairless).
One of Little Hawk's nephews (younger brother of Crazy Horse 3), whom he gave his name to and took the name Long Face. Nephew Little Hawk was killed in 1871 around the age 29 on a war expedition south of the Platte River. 'Long Face' then took back his name Little Hawk. This naming custom sometimes leads to confusion in attributing deeds to family members
Through the 1860s and 1870s, Little Hawk had participated in the fights aside his famous nephew – just four years younger - Crazy Horse. According to official data, he was one of participants in The Battle of the Little Big Horn. Committed by political and personal imperatives to preserve his people's hunting grounds, and reluctant to follow Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tatanka Yotanka) into Canadian exile, Little Hawk chose to fight aside his nephew against the U.S. troops.
According to General George Crook's 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."
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