Satank (died 8 June 1871), also known as Sitting Bear, was a prestigious Kiowa warrior and medicine man best-known for his martial skills during raids against the Cheyenne, Sauk, and United States during the Indian Wars.
Biography[]
Satank was a medicine man of the Kiowa tribe, and he became the head of its warrior society after Dohasan's death. In 1867, he signed the Medicine Lodge Treaty, agreeing to resettle Native Americans on reservations to keep the peace, but his son's death in 1870 led to Satank stepping up raiding and showing off his martial skills against the United States. He evaded Ranald Mackenzie's cavalry, but he was arrested alongside Satanta, Kicking Bird, and Big Tree at Fort Sill while drawing rations, with General-in-Chief William T. Sherman hearing Satanta boasting about a recent Texas raid (the Warren Wagon Train raid of 1871). He attempted to escape from Mackenzie's escort while being escorted to Texas for trial, but he was gunned down in the suicidal escape attempt.