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Chief Two Strike
(1831-1915)
Warriors Citation
Also called Two Strikes, this war chief's Brule Sioux name, Nomkahpa, meant "Knocks Two Off". The name was earned in a battle
after Two Strike knocked two Utes off their horses with a single blow of his war club. Two Strikes figured prominently in
the history of the Brules late in the 19th century up to and including the closing of the frontier at Wounded Kneein 1890.
Born near the Republican River in what would become Nebraska, Two Strike played an important role in raids on the Union Pacific
Railroad during RED CLOUD's War (1866-1868).
During the 1870s, Two Strike allied with SPOTTED TAIL and tried to insulate his people from the Euro-American invasion. In
the 1880s, Two Srike became an advocate of the Ghost Dance. A month before the massacre at Wounded Knee, however, Two Strike
heeded whites' advice to give up the dance and its promised delivery from Euro-American domination. After the slaughter of
Native people under BIG FOOT at Wounded Knee in late December 1890, Two Strike led his people on an angry rampage with other
Sioux. He desisted again after General Nelson Miles promised fair treatment for his people. Two Strike's people surrendered
for a second time on January 15, 1891. General Miles was generally regarded as credible by the Sioux because he rarely broke
his promises. Two Strike was a member of a Sioux delegation to Washington, D.C., a month after the Wounded Knee massacre.
The Sioux asked that Miles be allowed to negotiate for them with the Interior Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs, but
the general was excluded by white officials who thought of him as too pro-Native American. After the turn of the century,
Two Strike lived quietly at Pine Ridge, where he was buried after his death, about 1915. From: historical accounts & records
LINK TO BRAVEHORSE WARRIORS VOLUME TWO
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