Dull Knife - Northern Cheyenne

Dull Knife 1810?-1883

Dull Knife was born in Montana in about 1810. A member of the Cheyenne tribe he developed a reputation as a successful war leader. However, on 10th May, 1868, he was one of those leaders who signed the Fort Laramie Treaty. In 1875 Dull Knife was involved in attacks on the Shoshoni. The following year his men were involved in the defeat of General George A. Custer at the Little Bighorn. The U.S. army now responded by increasing the number of the soldiers in the area. When soldiers commanded by Ranad Mackenzie attacked Cheyenne villages, Dull Knife and Little Wolf led a party of 300 on a 1,500 mile journey north to their old hunting grounds. Dull Knife surrendered at Fort Robinson but Little Wolf went back to Montana. In January 1879 Dull Knife led a break-out but in the process an estimated third of the party died. Dull Knife died near the Rosebud River in 1883.