Great Leader: Little Raven of the Southern Arapaho, c 1810-1889
Chiefs of the various Plains tribes not only had to keep peace with White and sometimes Mexican settlers, they also had to be alert to quickly tamp down rivalry with other tribes. A war chief was often a skilled diplomat in order to survive. Little Raven, c 1810-1889, who also went by the name Hosa or Young Crow, was all of the above. Little Raven was born about 1810 on the banks of the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. How he rose to prominence among his people isn't known but by 1840, he mediated a peace between the Southern Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa and Kiowa-Apache. At the time he was about 30, but already known as a commanding and convincing orator. By 1857, he understood that the traditional nomadic life of hunting buffalo on the Plains was coming to an end and his people would have to supplement their resources. Little Raven requested agricultural tools and instruction from U.S. authorities. The Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1858 soon occupied his attention. Gol