Iron Shell was born in about 1816. He was the son of
Sicangu Chief Bull Tail. "Sicangu" meant "burnt thighs", the name given to some of the
Lakota people who had been caught in a prairie fire that burned their legs. The French later gave them the name Brulé. During a raid on the
Pawnee by the Brulé in 1843, Iron Shell received recognition for his actions. Thirteen years later, at
Fort Pierre, under Little Thunder, Iron Shell was made a sub-chief of the Brulé. When
General William Harney and his 600 troops made a surprise attack in 1855 in the
Battle of Ash Hollow against the Brulé at present-day
Lewellen, Nebraska, Chief Iron Shell was there and fought against Harney's troops, who greatly outnumbered the Sioux. Two of Iron Shell's wives were captured that day, though Iron Shell escaped. A total of 86 Sioux were killed, including many women and children. That confrontation and massacre constituted the largest loss of life through death or capture and loss of property that the Sicangu had ever suffered. Iron Shell became chief of the Brulé's Orphan Band during the
Powder River War of 1866-1868. He led many attacks against the
Omaha and
Pawnee. On September 4, 1867, Chief Iron Shell and 180 of his followers arrived at North Platte. He eventually signed the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and settled in the Upper Cut Meat District in the
Great Sioux Reservation, established under that treaty in the
West River area of present-day
South Dakota. In 1889 the reservation was broken up by the US prior to North Dakota and South Dakota being admitted to the Union; his area was made part of what is known as the
Rosebud Indian Reservation. He was buried near
St. Francis, South Dakota. ==Notes==