Editing Red Cloud (section)

{{Short description|Leader of the Oglala Lakota (1822–1909)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=August 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Red Cloud
| native_name        = Maȟpíya Lúta
| native_name_lang   = lkt
| image              = Red Cloud by John K Hillers circa 1880.jpg
| caption            = Red Cloud in 1880
| birth_date         = {{circa|1822}}
| birth_place        = near modern-day [[North Platte, Nebraska]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1909|12|10|1822}}
| death_place        = [[Pine Ridge, South Dakota]], U.S.
| death_cause        = 
| burial_place       = Red Cloud Cemetery, Pine Ridge
| burial_coordinates = {{Coord|43|4|38|N|102|35|1|W|region:US-SD_type:landmark|display=inline|name=Grave of Red Cloud (Maȟpíya Lúta)}}
| nationality        = [[Oglala Lakota]]
| known_for          = [[Red Cloud's War]]<br>Most photographed American Indian of the nineteenth century
| title              = Tribal chief 
| successor          = Jack Red Cloud
| spouse             = Pretty Owl (Mary Good Road)
| children           = 6
}}

'''Red Cloud''' ({{langx|lkt|'''Maȟpíya Lúta'''|italic=no}}; {{circa|1822}} – December 10, 1909) was a leader of the [[Oglala Lakota]] from 1865 to 1909.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Red Cloud {{!}} American Experience {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-redcloud/ |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=www.pbs.org |language=en}}</ref> He was one of the most capable Native American opponents whom the [[United States Army]] faced in the western territories. He led the Lakota to victory over the United States during [[Red Cloud's War]], establishing the Lakota as the only nation to defeat the United States on American soil.<ref>Nelson, S. D. (2017). Red Cloud: A Lakota story of war and surrender. Abrams.</ref> The largest action of the war was the 1866 [[Fetterman Fight]], with 81 US soldiers killed; it was the worst military defeat suffered by the US Army on the [[Great Plains]] until the [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]] 10 years later.

After signing the [[Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)]], Red Cloud led his people in the transition to reservation life. Some of his opponents mistakenly thought of him as the overall leader of the [[Sioux]] groups (Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota), but the large tribe had several major divisions and was highly decentralized. Bands among the Oglala and other divisions operated independently, though some individual leaders were renowned as warriors and highly respected as leaders, such as Red Cloud.