Ramsey County History – Spring 2003: “Sitting Bull and His 1884 Visit to St. Paul: ‘A Shady Pair’ and an ‘Attempt on His Life’”

Sitting Bull and His 1884 Visit to St. Paul: ‘A Shady Pair’ and an ‘Attempt on His Life’
Authors: Mark Diedrich, adapted by Paul D. Nelson

Sitting Bull, a symbol of Native American resistance, once came to St. Paul, an event not well covered in local newspapers. The Lakota agent at Standing Rock Reservation, who was coming to the city to make purchases, asked the famed Indian leader to accompany him, probably to try to “acculturate” him. Sitting Bull’s objectives in coming were to learn about the white world and to make a case for immediate government help for his people. He arrived on May 14, 1884, and visited many places, including the Cathedral of St. Paul, Indian Mounds Park, a telephone company, and Ft. Snelling. While most residents were curious, there were many who felt the man was still an enemy. Sitting Bull returned again in September, on his way to New York, and, there, may have been an attempted assassination of him.
PDF of Diedrich article