About
the Shirt Wearers ceremony: there seem to have been
at least two, possibly three or four such ceremonies
in the summer of 1868. The first took place in late
June or early July at the village of the Man Afraid
of His Horse faction of Northern Oglalas - i.e. the
people whose leaders had signed the treaty of Ft Laramie
in May. The men inducted were Young Man Afraid of
His Horse, American Horse, Sword-Owner, and Crazy
Horse. The Naca Okolakiciye or Chiefs Society (Short
Hairs, Big Bellies, etc.) were the council in this
division of the tribe. The main parts of the Hunkpatila,
plus elements of the Bad Faces, Spleen and Loafer
bands seems to have been in this village, which I
believe approximated 200 lodges.
The
second ceremony was held in the village of the Red
Cloud faction of Northern Oglalas - those people holding
out from signing the treaty until the Bozeman Trail
posts were abandoned. The council was formed around
the Ska Yuha or White Horse Owners Society. The main
parts of the Bad Face and Oyuhpe bands were represented,
another approximate 200 lodges. He Dog and Big Road
were inducted as leaders. I'm rather wary of assigning
them Shirt Wearer status, since in an unpublished
interview with Scudder Mekeel in 1931 He Dog stated
that he had not worn a ceremonial scalp shirt until
1870 (when his uncle Red Cloud presented him with
his scalp shirt for the duration of Red Cloud's visit
to Washington). Maybe He Dog and Big Road were appointed
Wakicunze (Deciders) or even akicita leaders?
In the present state of knowledge I just don't know.
Later,
but I'm sure later that summer after the abandonment
of the Bozeman Trail posts, the Ska Yuha council appointed
Red Cloud and Black Twin as chiefs of some sort or
other.
Lastly,
there may have been a ceremony on the Republican River
when four Shirt Wearers were appointed by the chiefs'
council of the Southern (Kiyaksa) Oglalas.
Little Wound, Whistler, Big Head, and Slow Dog may
have been the appointees. This may tie in with contemporary
newspaper accounts which state that in late August
the Lakotas on the Republican, drawn into the Dog
Soldier war then igniting on the central plains, selected
new war chiefs.
