Crazy Horse

            Mari Sandoz grew up near an Indian reservation in South Dakota. As a child she listened to indian stories told by her ancestors and neighbors. She heard many stories about a Sioux warrior named Crazy Horse. When Mari grew older she researched Crazy Horses life. Mari Sandoz eventually wrote the biography of this great Sioux warrior named Crazy Horse. The biography she wrote traces the life of Crazy Horse from boyhood to the last days of the warriors life.
             As a small boy, Crazy Horse is known by the name Curly. He was given this name because of his brown, curly hair. He was also known for his lightly colored skin. Many white women thought that he was captured by the Indians because his skin was so light.
             Curly grew up in the Great Plains of central, North America, in the Oglala tribe of the Sioux Indians. Curly looked to his father Crazy Horse (eventually Worm) and a friend named Hump, for guidance and knowledge. He learned to become a great fighter by watching his elders. During his childhood, Curly saw the Indians betrayed by the "white people" in many ways. Curly comes to the conclusion at a young age, that he cannot trust the white people. The white men were taking over the sacred lands of the Indians, by moving the Indians to useless land. The whites were also killing off all the buffalo. Curly's family depended on the buffalo for food, clothing, shelter and many other uses. The whites also brought many diseases that were killing off thousands of Indians. All of these things were slowly destroying the world that Curly and his people lived in. Also as a boy, Curly witnessed the deaths and mutilations of many indians, including many of his friends and family. .
             Crazy Horse withstands many personal tragedies of his own. When he was a young boy, his mother died. As he is growing up he flirts and courts with a girl in his tribe. Everyone in the tribe knew that the two indians liked each other.