Lakota tradition encouraged its fighting men to
publicly recount their exploits in battle. Waktoglaka
(wah-kto-glah-kah) is the word for that old custom,
meaning “to tell of one’s victories.” I
...
Lakota tradition encouraged its fighting men to
publicly recount their exploits in battle. Waktoglaka
(wah-kto-glah-kah) is the word for that old custom,
meaning “to tell of one’s victories.” It seems illogical
that a culture in which humility was a virtue could
allow its fighting men to brag in public. There was,
however, an essential requirement: Each and every
action recounted had to be verified by at least one
witness. That verification ensured the truth. To
truthfully describe one’s action in combat through the
forum of ceremony was not considered bragging
because the recounting—the story of the action—was
a gift. It became part of the identity and the lore of
the storyteller’s warrior society, and it served to
strengthen the entire village—not to mention that the
deed recounted served as an example for young men
to emulate.
Most men who did the waktoglaka did not repeat
the story unless asked because they realized the value
of humility. While exploits in the arena of combat
were the way to establish and enhance a good
reputation and gain status in the community, lack of
appropriate humility was a sure way to taint one’s
reputation and erode hard-won status. In other words,
once the battle was over it was time to be humble.
To traditional Lakota, humility was the one virtue
that enhanced other virtues. To be generous was
good, for example, as long as one did not call
attention to his or her generosity. Anything good that
was done or said with humility carried more impact.
According to all the stories, one of the most humble
of all Lakota was Crazy Horse.
Crazy Horse was an Oglala Lakota. The Oglala,
which means “to scatter one’s own,” were (and are)
one of the seven Lakota groups. His is one of the
most familiar names to emerge from the turbulent
nineteenth century in the American West. In western
American history, written by Euro-Americans, he is
popularly regarded as the conqueror of both General
George Crook and Lieutenant Colonel George Custer.
On June 17, 1876, he led seven hundred to nine
hundred Lakota and Cheyenne warriors and stopped
Crook’s northward advance at the Battle of the
Rosebud, on the Rosebud River in what is now north
central Wyoming. Eight days later, one thousand to
twelve hundred Lakota and Northern Cheyenne
warriors under his leadership, as well as the able
leadership of several other notable Lakota battlefield
leaders, defeated Custer’s Seventh Cavalry at the
Battle of the Little Bighorn. Crazy Horse was
thirty-six years old at the time, and his combat
experience and leadership helped to thwart—albeit
temporarily—the United States Army’s grand plan of
1876 to capture and herd all the Lakota onto
reservations once and for all. But we Lakota don’t
remember him primarily because he defeated Crook
or Custer; we remember him because—in spite of his
larger-than-life achievements on the field of
battle—he was a humble man.
Crazy Horse was born to be a warrior and a leader.
He had an ability to stay calm in the midst of chaos
and confusion, and to lead by example. In the Lakota
society of his day the arena of combat provided
opportunities for fighting men to display skill and
courage. Acts of bravery on the battlefield earned