Henry Standing Bear

For the television character, see Longmire (TV series).

Henry Standing Bear
Henry Standing Bear in 1883
Oglala Lakota leader
Personal details
Born	Mato Naji c. 1874 United States
Died	October 17, 1953(1953-10-17) (aged 78–79) United States
Relations	Luther Standing Bear (brother)

Henry Standing Bear (c. 1874 – 1953) ("Matȟó Nážiŋ") was a Sicangu and Oglala Lakota chief. A founding member of the Society of American Indians, he recruited and commissioned Polish-American sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to build the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He was a resident of Chicago's Hull House.

Early life

Henry Standing Bear was born near Pierre, South Dakota. No records exist recording his birth year, but it is estimated that he was born in 1874. George Standing Bear, a Sicangu chief, was his father and Roaming Nation was his mother. Standing Bear had several siblings, including Luther Standing Bear.

Standing Bear went by several names during his youth including Spotted Horse, Sorrel Horse, and Kills Little.

Carlisle Indian Industrial School

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was a Native American boarding school created to assimilate Native Americans. On November 14, 1883, Standing Bear arrived at Carlisle. He took the name Henry after arriving. At Carlisle, Standing Bear learned how to read and write in English and developed oratory skills.

Crazy Horse Memorial

In 1933, Standing Bear join a project to create a monument to Crazy Horse. He and several Lakota leaders organized the Crazy Horse Memorial Association to promote a carved monument in the Black Hills, which the Lakota Nation consider a sacred site. During this time Gutzon Borglam was working on carving four presidents into Mount Rushmore. Earlier in 1931, Standing Bear's brother, Luther, had written to Borglum suggesting that Crazy Horse be sculpted onto Mount Rushmore.

References

Bibliography

• Brown, Victoria Bissell (2004). The Education of Jane Addams. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-3747-4.
• "Crazy Horse Memorial® - Chief Henry Standing Bear". crazyhorsememorial.org. Retrieved May 29, 2026.
• Agonito, Joseph (2011). Lakota Portraits: Lives of the Legendary Plains People. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7627-6829-5.
• Sprague, Donovin Arleigh (2005). Rosebud Sioux. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-3447-3.
• Standing Bear, Luther (1928). Brininstool, E. A. (ed.). My People The Sioux. Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press.
• Swanson, John. "Henry Standing Bear". www.aaanativearts.com. Retrieved May 29, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
• Vigil, Kiara M. (2017). "Who Was Henry Standing Bear? Remembering Lakota Activism from the Early Twentieth Century". Great Plains Quarterly. 37 (3): 157–182. ISSN 0275-7664. Retrieved May 28, 2026.