Two Strike (Chief)
Encyclopedia
Two Strike was a Brulé Lakota chief born in the White River Valley
in the northwest of present day Nebraska
. He earned his Lakota name "Nomkahpa", meaning "Knocks Two Off" in a battle with the Ute
s, when he knocked two Utes off their horses with a single blow of his war club.
Two Strike fought in various battles against the U.S. Army during the time of Bozeman Trail
wars, allied with Chief Crow Dog
and Chief Crazy Horse
in the Powder River
country of Wyoming
.
Two Strike and his band were present along with bands of the Southern Cheyenne, at the Battle of Summit Springs
in Colorado
on July. 11 1869, when the U.S. Fifth Cavalry and 50 Pawnee scouts made a surprise attack against their camp. Buffalo Bill Cody
was present at the battle serving in the capacity as chief scout. Chief Tall Bull
of the Southern Cheyenne along with 51 members of the combined Lakota-Cheyenne encampment were killed and 17 women and children were taken prisoner, the rest of the Lakota and Cheyenne managed to escape. The soldiers then burned their camp including their tipi
s and supplies.
Chief Two Strike was one of the principal chiefs of combined Oglala
and Brulé
war party of over a thousand braves that attacked a group of 350 Pawnee that had left their reservation in Nebraska
to hunt buffalo
. More than 70 Pawnee were killed in the battle which occurred in and along a canyon in present day Hitchcock County, Nebraska
. The canyon was subsequently named Massacre Canyon
.
White River (South Dakota)
The White River is a Missouri River tributary that flows through the U.S. states of Nebraska and South Dakota. The name stems from the water's white-gray color, a function of eroded sand, clay, and volcanic ash carried by the river...
in the northwest of present day Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. He earned his Lakota name "Nomkahpa", meaning "Knocks Two Off" in a battle with the Ute
Ute
-Tribes:*Ute people, an American Indian people now living primarily in Utah and Colorado**Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado**Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, Utah...
s, when he knocked two Utes off their horses with a single blow of his war club.
Two Strike fought in various battles against the U.S. Army during the time of Bozeman Trail
Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail was an overland route connecting the gold rush territory of Montana to the Oregon Trail. Its most important period was from 1863-1868. The flow of pioneers and settlers through territory of American Indians provoked their resentment and caused attacks. The U.S. Army undertook...
wars, allied with Chief Crow Dog
Crow Dog
Crow Dog was a Brulé Lakota subchief, born at Horse Stealing Creek, Montana Territory, he was the nephew of former principal chief Conquering Bear who was killed in 1854 in an incident which would be known as the Grattan massacre. Crow Dog was one of the leaders who helped popularize the Ghost...
and Chief Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
in the Powder River
Powder River Country
The Powder River Country refers to an area of the Great Plains in northeastern Wyoming in the United States. The area is loosely defined between the Bighorn Mountains and the Black Hills, in the upper drainage areas of the Powder, Tongue, and Little Bighorn rivers.During the late 1860s, the area...
country of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
Two Strike and his band were present along with bands of the Southern Cheyenne, at the Battle of Summit Springs
Battle of Summit Springs
The Battle of Summit Springs, on July 11, 1869, was an armed conflict between elements of the United States Army under the command of Colonel Eugene A. Carr and a group of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers led by Tall Bull, who died during the engagement...
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
on July. 11 1869, when the U.S. Fifth Cavalry and 50 Pawnee scouts made a surprise attack against their camp. Buffalo Bill Cody
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
was present at the battle serving in the capacity as chief scout. Chief Tall Bull
Tall Bull
Tall Bull was a chief of the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers. He was shot and killed in the Battle of Summit Springs in Colorado by Major Frank North leader of the Pawnee Scouts....
of the Southern Cheyenne along with 51 members of the combined Lakota-Cheyenne encampment were killed and 17 women and children were taken prisoner, the rest of the Lakota and Cheyenne managed to escape. The soldiers then burned their camp including their tipi
Tipi
A tipi is a Lakota name for a conical tent traditionally made of animal skins and wooden poles used by the nomadic tribes and sedentary tribal dwellers of the Great Plains...
s and supplies.
Chief Two Strike was one of the principal chiefs of combined Oglala
Oglala Lakota
The Oglala Lakota or Oglala Sioux are one of the seven subtribes of the Lakota people; along with the Nakota and Dakota, they make up the Great Sioux Nation. A majority of the Oglala live on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the eighth-largest Native American reservation in the...
and Brulé
Brulé
The Brulé are one of the seven branches or bands of the Teton Lakota Sioux American Indian nation. They are known as Sičháŋǧu Oyáte , or "Burnt Thighs Nation," and so, were called Brulé by the French...
war party of over a thousand braves that attacked a group of 350 Pawnee that had left their reservation in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
to hunt buffalo
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
. More than 70 Pawnee were killed in the battle which occurred in and along a canyon in present day Hitchcock County, Nebraska
Hitchcock County, Nebraska
-History:Hitchcock County was formed in 1873. It was named after the US Senator Phineas Warren Hitchcock.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 3,111 people, 1,287 households, and 899 families residing in the county. The population density was 4 people per square mile . There were...
. The canyon was subsequently named Massacre Canyon
Massacre Canyon
The Massacre Canyon Battle took place on August 5, 1873, in Hitchcock County, Nebraska. It was one of the last battles between the Pawnee and the Sioux and the last large-scale battle between Native American tribes in the area of the present-day United States of America...
.