Crazy Horse (1840 – 1877) was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota tribe. His childhood name was Curly because of his light brown curly hair which he was mistaken for a halfbreed. He took up arms against the military forces of the US government in order to fight against the encroaching settlers that took residence on Native American territories and threatened the way of life of the Lakota people. He was a young warrior in the Red Cloud campaign to stop the building of forts along the Laramie Trail. He would be the major leader of the battle against Custer at the Little Bighorn where the Dakota and other tribes (Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Blackfoot, and Kiowa) would win a victory in June 1876.
Despite claims to the contrary, Crazy Horse was never officially photographed. Several photographs do exist however that are said to depict him. The most accurate known depiction of him was a sketch made in 1934 by a Mormon missionary after he interviewed Crazy Horse’s sister, who claimed the depiction was accurate. This sketch was left in the possession of Crazy Horse’s family.