Bad Wound

Copyright by F.A. Rinehart. Obtained from the Library of Congress.

I am a sixth generation descendant of Bad Wound, who was at times known as “Young Man Bad Wound” and “Old Man Bad Wound,” who was the 5th signer of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie.

Bad Wound was the son of Bear Bull (mató tȟatȟáŋka), who was killed by Red Cloud (maȟpíya lúta) in 1841, creating a split among the Oglala tribe. Bull Bear’s followers were known as the “Bear People” and lived in the Platte River country, forming a southern division of the Oglala tribe. Bad Wound assumed leadership of the tribe and following his death, the Bear People were led by his brother, Little Wound (tha'opi cik'ala), who died in the winter of 1899.  

Bad Wound’s son, Robert Bad Wound, was the first Tribal President for the Oglala Lakota people in 1934.