The Conqueror

Chief Gall of Sioux

Born in present-day South Dakota around 1840, Gall was said to receive his nickname after eating the gall of an animal killed by a neighbor. He grew to be a giant of a man weighing close to 300 pounds.

He was recognized as an accomplished warrior during his late teens and became a chief in his twenties. Leading the Lakota in their long war against the United States, he served with Sitting Bull during several battles, including the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

In late 1876, many of the Hunkpapa bands crossed over the border into Canada where they struggled to survive for the next several years. Gall came to disagree with Sitting Bull and brought his band back to the United States in 1880 and surrendered. On May 26, 1881, he and his band were loaded unto steamers along with Crow King, Black Moon, Low Dog and Fools Heart and shipped downriver to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The first complete census taken of the Lakota at Standing Rock in the fall of 1881 listed Gall with a band of 52 families, totaling 230 people.

Becoming a farmer, he encouraged his people to assimilate to reservation life. He became a Christian convert. He served as a judge of the Court of Indian Affairs on the reservation. He became friendly with the Indian Agent, James McLaughlin.

Eventually Gall turned against Sitting Bull, who had become involved with the Ghost Dance movement.

Gall lived on the Standing Rock Agency until his death on December 5, 1894.