Sitting Bull, Native American name Tatanka Yotanka (1831?-1890), Native American leader of the Sioux. He was born in present-day South Dakota. Led by Sitting Bull, the Sioux resisted efforts of the United States government to annex their lands and force them to settle on reservations. Between June 25 and June 26, 1876, the Sioux, with the aid of other tribes, annihilated a punitive expedition commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Sitting Bull and his followers then fled to Canada. Receiving a promise of amnesty in 1881, Sitting Bull returned to U.S. territory, where he was imprisoned for two years and then settled on a reservation. In 1885 Sitting Bull was allowed to leave the reservation to tour with the Wild West show of Buffalo Bill. On December 15, 1890, fearing an uprising on the reservation, the army arrested him. As he was being led away, a gunfight erupted during which Sitting Bull and 12 others were killed. Bright Star