to sign a treaty relinquishing half of their holdings – the land north and east of the Minnesota River – to the United States, leaving the Dakota with title to a 10-by-150 mile strip of land. According to Big Eagle:"In 1858 the ten miles of this strip belonging to the Medawakanton and Wacouta bands and lying north of the river was sold, mainly through the influence of Little Crow. That year, with some other chiefs, I went to Washington on business connected with the treaty. The selling of that strip north of the Minnesota caused great dissatisfaction among the Sioux, and Little Crow was always blamed for the part he took in the sale. It caused us all to move to the south side of the river, where there was but very little game, and many of our people, under the treaty, were induced to give up the old life and go to work like white men, which was very distasteful to many."The delegation spent over three months in Washington, D.C., providing Big Eagle and the other Dakota leaders with time to sightsee and observe American society. Contest for chief speaker of tribe In the spring of 1862, Wambditanka (Big Eagle), Little Crow and Traveling Hail were candidates for chief speaker of the Mdewakanton tribe which Traveling Hail won. According to Big Eagle: "There was a white man’s party and an Indian party. We had politics among us and there was much feeling. A new chief speaker for the tribe was to be elected. There were three candidates, Little Crow, myself and Wa-sui-hi-ya-ye-dan ('Traveling Hail'). After an exciting contest, Traveling Hail was elected. Little Crow felt sore over his defeat. Many of our tribe believed him responsible for the sale of the north ten-mile strip, and I think this was why he was defeated. I did not care much about it. Many whites think that Little Crow was the principal chief of the Dakotas at this time, but he was not. Wabasha was the principal chief, and he was of the white man’s party. So was I. So was old Shakopee, whose band was very large. Many think if old Shakopee had lived there would have been no war, for he was for the white men and had great influence. But he died that summer, and was succeeded by his son, whose real name was Ea-to-ka ('Another Language'), but when