Red Cloud

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Red Cloud
Maȟpíya Lúta
Red Cloud in 1880
Born	c. 1822 near modern-day North Platte, Nebraska
Died	December 10, 1909(1909-12-10) (aged 86–87) Pine Ridge, South Dakota, U.S.
Burial place	Red Cloud Cemetery, Pine Ridge 43°4′38″N 102°35′1″W / 43.07722°N 102.58361°W / 43.07722; -102.58361 (Grave of Red Cloud (Maȟpíya Lúta))
Nationality	Oglala Lakota
Known for	Red Cloud's War Most photographed American Indian of the nineteenth century
Title	Tribal chief
Successor	Jack Red Cloud
Spouse	Pretty Owl (Mary Good Road)
Children	6

Red Cloud (Lakota: Maȟpíya Lúta; c. 1822 – December 10, 1909) was a leader of the Oglala Lakota from 1865 to 1909.^[1] He was one of the most capable Native American opponents whom the United States Army faced in the western territories. He led the Lakota to victory over the United States during Red Cloud's War, establishing the Lakota as the only nation to defeat the United States on American soil.^[2] The largest action of the war was the 1866 Fetterman Fight, with 81 US soldiers killed; it was the worst military defeat suffered by the US Army on the Great Plains until the Battle of the Little Bighorn 10 years later.

After signing the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), Red Cloud led his people in the transition to reservation life. Some of his opponents mistakenly thought of him as the overall leader of the Sioux groups (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota), but the large tribe had several major divisions and was highly decentralized. Bands among the Oglala and other divisions operated independently, though some individual leaders were renowned as warriors and highly respected as leaders, such as Red Cloud.