360° capture 3.1 mi away Sep 25, 1804 – Aug 25, 1806
Historical Figure
Black Buffalo
Black Buffalo (Un-tongar-Sar-bar) was a chief of the Brulé band of the Teton Sioux (Lakota) who played a central role in one of the most dangerous confrontations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In late September 1804, near present-day Pierre, South Dakota, tensions escalated between the Corps and the Teton Sioux over tribute demands. While his fellow chief The Partisan provoked the crisis, Black Buffalo ultimately helped de-escalate the situation, allowing the expedition to continue upriver. The encounter demonstrated the power of the Teton Sioux as gatekeepers of Missouri River trade.
0 treaties
3 total items
2 mapped locations
Related Locations
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Planning (1801–1804)
Westward (1804–1805)
Fort Clatsop (1805–1806)
Return (1806)
Post (1806–1812)
Master expedition route
Journal Entries (2)
Documents (1)
Cross-Narrator Analyses
Analyses that cite or discuss Black Buffalo — showing 4 of the most recent matches.
September 24, 1804
A Stolen Horse at the Mouth of the Teton
This analysis was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor.The entries for September 24, 1804, capture the expedition's arrival…
September 25, 1804
Three Pens at the Bad River: Comparing Accounts of the Teton Standoff
The encounter at the mouth of the Bad River produced one of the richest cross-narrator records of the early expedition. Three enlisted…
August 30, 1806
Three Voices, One Standoff: Re-Encountering the Tetons on the Lower Missouri
The 30 August 1806 entries from Patrick Gass, John Ordway, and William Clark describe a single event: an armed riverine standoff with…
Figure: Teton Sioux (Lakota)
The Teton Sioux (Lakota): Gatekeepers of the Upper Missouri
Introduction: A Single Entry, A Defining ConfrontationThe journal record provided here is exceptionally limited — only one entry (September 25, 1804) explicitly…
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