Old Chief Smoke

Old Chief Smoke (Lakota: Šóta, pronounced Sho-tah) (1774–1864), an original Oglala Sioux head chief.

Background

Smoke's mother Looking Walker Woman was Teton Oglala Lakota, and his father, Body Parts, was Teton Sihásapa Lakota. He had an maternal uncle named Stone Chief or Knife. Smoke was the brother to White Cow Woman and Walks As She Thinks. When Smoke was born his parents named him "Standing Bull" after his paternal grandfather Standing Buffalo. In his youth he was given a Toklala's name Smoke, then later on, he honored his fourth son "Bad Face" by giving him his name Smoke. He took the name of Slow Buffalo Bull, but the Smoke name stuck with him until he died.

Accomplishments

Chief Smoke was a great horse capturer and great warrior in his youth. He achieved military accomplishments, and, later on, he rose rapidly as a major and prominent and recognizable headman. Eventually the people and council of the Lakotas chose him as one of the main-chiefs. After the Húŋkpa’ti′la's headman Stone Knife's death in 1797. Old Man Smoke was the head Chief of one of the major prominent and most dominant and largest seven Lakota divisions: the Teton Húŋkpa’ti′la (The Camp at the End of the Circle), later on, better known as the Oglala Lakota Sioux Nation from around 1797-1800 to 1864.

Old Chief v. United States

Old Chief v. United States, 519 U.S. 172 (1997), discussed the limitation on admitting relevant evidence set forth in Federal Rule of Evidence 403. Under this rule, otherwise relevant evidence may be excluded if the probative value of the evidence is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, misleading the jury, or considerations of undue delay, wasting time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. In this case, Old Chief offered to stipulate to the fact of a prior conviction, which was an element of the crime with which he was charged. The prosecution resisted this stipulation, arguing that it had the right to present its case in any manner it chose. In Old Chief, the Court applied Rule 403 to the particular situation presented by this case, and concluded that Rule 403 required the trial court to accept the defendant's stipulation to a prior conviction over the prosecution's objection.

Facts