DNA Confirms Sitting Bull Was South Dakota Man’s Great-Grandfather

For years, Ernie LaPointe, a writer and Vietnam veteran, claimed that helium was the great-grandson of Sitting Bull, the Hunkpapa Lakota person celebrated for resisting the national government’s efforts to prehend the Great Plains.

He has had his mother’s oral past verified by Smithsonian researchers, and a fastener of hairsbreadth and wool leggings belonging to Sitting Bull, whose commencement sanction was Tatanka Iyotake, returned to the family.

But Mr. LaPointe, 73, said that helium had ne'er felt helium had capable grounds linking him to Sitting Bull to assistance him execute his eventual goal: moving the chief’s remains from a burial tract successful South Dakota, successful an country helium says has been desecrated, to a last resting spot worthy of his great-grandfather’s legacy.

This week, his effort to flooded absorption to the exhumation whitethorn person received assistance from an improbable source: Danish researchers.

Researchers astatine the University of Copenhagen said connected Wednesday that DNA grounds confirmed that Mr. LaPointe, who lives successful Lead, S.D., is the nonstop descendant of Sitting Bull. The find was made by investigating a one-inch portion of Sitting Bull’s hairsbreadth done a caller sequencing method that, the scientists said, made it imaginable for the archetypal clip to corroborate kinship utilizing “ancient DNA” from small, aged and damaged samples.

“The method tin grip what erstwhile methods couldn’t handle,” said Eske Willerslev, 1 of the pb authors of the study, which was published successful Science Advances connected Wednesday. “It tin enactment connected very, precise tiny amounts of DNA, and it tin spell backmost further generations.”

The probe opens the possibilities, helium said, for radical to larn whether they are the nonstop descendants of kings similar Henry V, who died centuries ago, oregon of celebrated humanities figures similar the outlaw Jesse James. It could besides assistance lick acold cases that mightiness person earlier seemed hopeless due to the fact that the carnal grounds had deteriorated, Dr. Willerslev said. It could adjacent assistance lick cases that are centuries old, helium said.

Dr. Willerslev said it was possible, for example, that the methodology could assistance lick 1 of England’s astir confounding acold cases: the destiny of the 2 young nephews of Richard III, who was accused of ordering them killed truthful helium could presume the throne successful 1483. The boys disappeared that year.

Nearly 200 years later, skeletal remains of 2 radical were recovered successful the Tower of London, but they were ne'er identified. Dr. Willerslev said the methodology utilized connected Sitting Bull’s hairsbreadth could beryllium utilized connected those remains, assuming relatives of Richard III were live and could beryllium tracked down.

Mr. LaPointe said that for him the DNA confirmation mightiness bolster his run to exhume and rebury the leader’s remains.

“We’re going to enactment him determination else,” helium said connected Thursday. “Where helium volition beryllium respected.”

Mr. LaPointe said his parent told him and his 3 sisters who their great-grandfather was erstwhile they were children. In 2007, that oral past was verified by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which concluded that Mr. LaPointe and his sisters were the lone surviving relatives of Sitting Bull. The aforesaid year, the depository returned to the household a fastener of hairsbreadth and wool leggings that an Army doc had taken from Sitting Bull’s assemblage aft helium was fatally changeable by tribal constabulary successful 1890.

Sitting Bull was the person of the Hunkpapa Lakota. For years, helium fought the United States Army arsenic the national authorities encroached connected tribal lands. One of his astir celebrated battles was against Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s army, which was defeated successful 1876 successful the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Sitting Bull surrendered to the U.S. authorities successful 1881 and was allowed to unrecorded successful the Standing Rock Reservation.

He aboriginal toured concisely with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, but an cause successful complaint of the preservation feared helium was readying different absorption run and moved to apprehension him successful 1890. Sitting Bull was changeable during the botched apprehension and buried astatine Fort Yates successful North Dakota.

Whether his remains are inactive determination has been disputed.

The municipality of Mobridge, S.D., said connected its website that successful 1953, a radical of businessmen on with a descendant of some Sitting Bull and 1 of the Native American officers who arrested the main moved his remains to the confederate information of the Standing Rock Reservation, overlooking the Missouri River.

Mr. LaPointe said helium believed his great-grandfather’s remains prevarication there.

Over the decades, the tract has been neglected, Mr. LaPointe said, and whenever helium has gone to visit, the country has reeked of urine and been littered with breached brew bottles and utilized condoms.

“People went up determination to party,” Mr. LaPointe said.

Mr. LaPointe said helium planned to petition the authorities to fto him exhume the remains astatine Standing Rock truthful that the bones could beryllium tested for DNA to corroborate they were Sitting Bull’s.

Jon Eagle, the tribal historical preservation serviceman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, said removing Sitting Bull’s remains would beryllium a large affront.

“We support them — we don’t excavation them up and determination them,” helium said. “That truly violates our spiritual beliefs.”

Mr. LaPointe said helium was undeterred by those concerns. He said that helium did not cognize wherever Sitting Bull’s remains would yet beryllium interred, but if helium was allowed to person them exhumed, they would not enactment successful Mobridge.

“We’re not putting him backmost successful that spread again,” helium said. “They tin accidental immoderate they want.”