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Crazy Horse Knife – Living History Series

Tashunke Witko , or Crazy Horse, was born around 1845 along the Rapid Creek near the Black Hills of South Dakota. During his boyhood, the Lakota Sioux had little contact with whites other than the occasional trader or soldier, and Crazy Horse was raised with tribal traditions of generosity, courage and self-denial. His father was neither a chief nor a tribal leader, but Crazy Horse won tribal leadership through his acts. His dreams became prophesy. Crazy Horse said he would never be hurt in battle, then demonstrated his belief in that vision by riding back and forth in front of enemies without being hit by a single bullet. At Little Big Horn, he rode to within 50 yards of enemy breastworks before calling his men to attack. His fearlessness made his men feel they were invincible, and they won a victorious battle against Custer’s Seventh Calvary. But the White Man would not leave the West and Crazy Horse would never surrender the lands claimed by his people. When asked where his lands were located, he replied, “My lands are where my dead lie buried.”

The Crazy Horse knife sports a handle made of wood from a grove of aspen trees, which grew on the sacred Pine Ridge Reservation land in southern Nebraska. The Aspen is revered by the Sioux Nation as the “Tree of Life.” The core of “Knowing where you come from and where you are going” entwines with the concept of the tree of life. No other piece of history embodies this more than the sacred white aspen wood used in the Crazy Horse Knife. Known in Native American cultures as the Tree of Life, the white aspen grows freely in the mountains above 2,000 feet, ensuring their continuing abundance and freedom as it also ensures their continuance as People. Due to its white wood color, the White Aspen are considered to be holy, and the trees also symbolize purity. The blade is made from knapped obsidian, a hard volcanic glass. Its color is variegated rust black and is affixed to the hilt with leather strips. Horsehair tassels dangle from brass cones, threaded with bone beads lashed to the leather binding. Four brass tacks represent the four seasons. The fringed buckskin sheath is brain-tanned, hand-made and beaded with a familiar Sioux pattern.

Only 1,845 commemorating the year Crazy Horse was born. Includes a Glass Top Wooden Display Case and Certificate of Authenticity.

Discontinued by the manufacturer, this product is no longer available. Please see related products below.