Background
He was born near Grand River in South Dakota in 1836. Both his father, Sicola, and grandfather, Uses Him as a Shield, were important Sihasapa leaders.
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John Grass
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Education
John Grass attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he learned to read and speak English fluently.
Career
He fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana. Grass was known as Charging Bear in his youth. Some sources say Grass had four children.
Others give a larger number but many died at a young age.
He utilized his knowledge of the English language on behalf of his people, when engaged in negotiations with the United States government. In the 1850s and 1860s, Grass participated in battles against tribal enemies.
From the late 1870s until his death, Grass served as chief justice of the Court of Indian Offenses for the Standing Rock Agency in North Dakota. Together with his friend Hunkpapa warrior Gall, Grass advocated for formal education and agricultural lifestyles for his tribe as a means of survival.
He fought the United States government"s efforts to take more Lakota lands, and in 1888 led a widespread resistance to Pratt Commission"s attempt to break up the Great Sioux Reservation" however, the land was sold under the Crooks Commission"s oversight in 1889.
The United States government failed to honor its treaty and statutory obligations, and in 1902 Grass led a delegation to Washington, District of Columbia to convey Lakota grievances to the federal government. John Grass died on May 10, 1918 at his home near Fort Yates, North Dakota on the Standing Rock Reservation. Grass led his warriors at the 1873 battle of Massacre Canyon in Nebraska, in which a Lakota war party attacked a group of Pawnee on a buffalo hunt.
A monument commemorating the event, one of the last large battles between Native American tribes in the United States, was placed near the site of the canyon.
Carved upon the 35-foot granite obelisk is the face of John Grass, slightly higher and opposite the carving of Ruling His Son"s face, a Pawnee chief also at the battle that day. Chief White Bulletin described Grass as: "A good talker.. not a thinker or a smart manitoba. could always say yes but never northern".
Membership
He was a member of the White Horse Riders Society.
