Sharp told Frank Phillips that Dick Spotted Elk was a prominent Sioux man. After fighting Custer, Spotted Elk later distinguished himself as a tribal diplomat taking trips to Washington, DC and receiving a presidential medal from Grant. (Woolaroc archives) Somehow, though, Sharp was mistaken about the identity of this man.  He may have been related to the famous Miniconjou, Lakota leader who fought Custer (perhaps a son), but that man died in 1890, about a decade before Sharp arrived among the Sioux.

Sharp painted several other portraits of this man, known as Dick Spotted Elk, including a profile version of Spotted Elk in 1905 (#222, Smithsonian American Art Museum) and another the next year, 1906, a three quarter front view wearing the same peace medal. (see relates image, #84)