State Historical Society of North Dakota

We have the painting of Sitting Bull that was hanging in his cabin on the day of his death on December 15, 1890. When Indian agency police with government orders came to Sitting Bull’s cabin to arrest him, a gunfight broke out. The Hunkpapa leader, seven tribal members, and six agency police were killed. As Sitting Bull’s cabins were being searched afterward, a police officer whose brother had just been killed smashed the painting with his rifle, tearing the canvas. Cavalry officer Matthew F. Steele stopped further destruction, took the painting, and purchased it from Sitting Bull’s widows. The painting was donated by the Matthew Steele estate to the State Historical Society of North Dakota in 1953 and can be viewed in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum.

Yes, it is located in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum.