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Secondary sourceSculpture19 September 2009

Sitting Bull Monument Detail

Malchow · 19 September 2009

A detail of a later stone monument commemorating Sitting Bull, carved long after his death in 1890.

A later monument built to commemorate Sitting Bull's life and legacy.

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Carved stone memorial marker with a relief portrait of Sitting Bull in feathered headdress and braids, dates 1834-1890, name 'SITTING BULL', 'TATANKA IYOTAKE', and an engraved biographical text below, set in a concrete arched frame.
Malchow, Sitting Bull Monument (detail), 2009.

About this source

What it is

This is a detail of a stone memorial marker made by the sculptor Malchow, photographed in 2009. It shows a carved relief portrait of Sitting Bull in a feathered headdress and braids, with his dates, his name 'SITTING BULL' and his Lakota name 'TATANKA IYOTAKE', and a biographical text below, set in a concrete arched frame.

Why it matters

This monument was created long after Sitting Bull's death to commemorate him. It shows how later generations chose to remember and honor him publicly, in contrast to the paintings and photographs made during his actual lifetime.

Look closer

  • Why might the monument include both his English and Lakota names?
  • How does a stone monument like this differ from a portrait made while someone was alive?
  • What choices did the monument's makers face about how to represent Sitting Bull's life and legacy?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Handwritten manuscript page on lined paper, titled 'Articles of a Treaty' in ornate script, with an opening paragraph naming United States commissioners and Sioux Nation delegates, followed by 'Article I' below. The page is aged and yellowed with visible tears along the top and bottom edges.Document

Primary source

Fort Laramie Treaty

29 April 1868

Colored reproduction card labeled 'Chief Sitting Bull Sioux' showing a man in profile with long braids, two feathers in his hair, a red neckerchief, and a beaded vest with geometric and floral designs.Photograph

Primary source

Sitting Bull Portrait by William Notman

William Notman · 1885

Sepia-toned studio portrait of a man with a long braided hair, wearing a light patterned shirt and a feather headdress, looking directly at the camera with a serious expression against a plain backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Chief Sitting Bull

David F. Barry · 1884

Black and white studio photograph of two men standing in front of a painted forest backdrop. On the left, a older man in a long feathered war bonnet and fringed, beaded buckskin clothing holds a rifle. On the right, a man in a wide-brimmed hat, embroidered jacket, and tall boots rests a hand on his chest.Photograph

Primary source

Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill

Wm. Notman & Son · 1885

Scanned page of the 1887 Act titled 'An Act to provide for the allotment of lands in severalty to Indians on the various reservations', headed 'Forty-Ninth Congress of the United States of America; At the Second Session', with handwritten marks and a 'Public No. 105' stamp.Document

Primary source

Dawes Act

Henry Dawes · 8 February 1887

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