Crazy horse biography part 4

Crazy Horse: Early Years

Crazy Horse was born in the Black Hills of South Dakota in 1841, the son of the Oglala Sioux shaman also named Crazy Horse and his wife, a member of the Brule Sioux.

Crazy Horse had lighter complexion and hair than others in his tribe, with prodigious curls.

Boys were traditionally not permanently named until they had an experience that earned them a name, so Crazy Horse was called “Curly Hair” and “Light-Haired Boy” as a child.

As an adolescent, Crazy Horse earned the name “His Horse Looking,” but he was more commonly known as “Curly” until 1858 when, following a battle with Arapaho warriors he was given his father’s name, while his father took the name Worm.

Crazy Horse's Vision Quest

Crazy Horse was not a traditionalist with regard to his tribe’s customs, shrugging off many of the traditions and rituals that the Sioux practiced.

In 1854, Crazy Horse rode off into the prairies for a vision quest, purposefully ignoring the required rituals.

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